Core Module Information
Module title: Surveillance & Society

SCQF level: 10:
SCQF credit value: 20.00
ECTS credit value: 10

Module code: SSC10112
Module leader: Francesca Soliman
School School of Applied Sciences
Subject area group: Social Science
Prerequisites

There are no pre-requisites for this module to be added

Description of module content:

In this module you will look at the growth of the nation state and early forms of surveillance and how these have been challenged, refined, and adapted over time. You will consider notions of individual liberty and freedoms that accompanied the bourgeois revolutions of Western Europe and whether these ideals have been compromised with the growth of industrial capitalist society and the need for work discipline, time management and control. Within an analysis of organisational society, you will look at models of rationalisation, bureaucratisation, networking, and the supposed rise of `big brother’ and `total institutions’ drawing on the work of Weber, Foucault, Lyons and others. You will analyse traditional and new forms of surveillance drawing out the key techniques and technologies used and their social and cultural consequences. You will understand how, while surveillance is embedded through society, its social impact is unequally distributed, as individuals and groups are constantly sorted into categories attracting different levels of scrutiny. The work of Beck and Giddens on `risk society’ and Bauman on the fluidity and indeterminacy of contemporary social life along with the work of Furedi on the `culture of fear’ will provide useful heuristics that will enable you to develop a critical discourse of surveillant practice. You will consider how new surveillance technologies such as social media shape our understanding of and relationship with surveillance, and you will examine various forms of resistance to surveillance and their different aims, from privacy to social justice.

Learning Outcomes for module:

Upon completion of this module you will be able to

LO1: Critically evaluate the key dynamics and processes leading to the growth of surveillance cultures in our society, with emphasis on the contested nature of surveillance practices

LO2: Critically evaluate and apply sociological literature on specific surveillance technologies, systems, and cultures

LO3: Demonstrate a critical understanding of both `data mining’ and `systems creep’ and explain the dangers such systems of accounting and surveillance may pose

LO4: Explain how logics of capital accumulation, time management and control contribute to embedding surveillance in contemporary society

LO5: Evaluate the social impact of surveillance technologies and identify the unequal distribution of technology harms

Full Details of Teaching and Assessment
2024/5, Trimester 2, In Person,
VIEW FULL DETAILS
Occurrence: 001
Primary mode of delivery: In Person
Location of delivery: SIGHTHILL
Partner:
Member of staff responsible for delivering module: Francesca Soliman
Module Organiser:


Student Activity (Notional Equivalent Study Hours (NESH))
Mode of activityLearning & Teaching ActivityNESH (Study Hours)NESH Description
Face To Face Lecture 20 There will be 10 2-hour lectures, beginning from week 2. Lectures will be delivered in person and recordings will be uploaded on the VLE. The lecture recording will include automatically generated subtitles/close-captioning.
Face To Face Tutorial 10 The weekly tutorials are designed to facilitate student-led discussion and advance critical understanding of the course material. Each tutorial is designed around a set reading, and may include group work, problem-based learning, workshops, class discussions, presentations, etc.
Online Guided independent study 170 You are expected to engage in reading, online learning activities, and preparing for assessments. You will be provided with a reading list to guide your learning, but you will be expected to search for further sources independently.
Total Study Hours200
Expected Total Study Hours for Module200


Assessment
Type of Assessment Weighting % LOs covered Week due Length in Hours/Words Description
Class Test 30 1~2 Week 5 HOURS= 30 minutes The concept inventory is a multiple choice test designed to test your understanding of the core theories and concepts you have learned during the first three lectures in the module.
Oral Presentation 70 1~2~3~4~5 Week 13 HOURS= 20 mins For this assessment you will choose an example of a contemporary mass surveillance practice and examine it in light of the key concepts and theories you have learned throughout the module. Your presentation will last 15 minutes and will be followed by 5 minutes for questions.
Component 1 subtotal: 30
Component 2 subtotal: 70
Module subtotal: 100

Indicative References and Reading List - URL:
SSC10112 Surveillance and Society