Digital Democracy – How Digitalization Shapes Democracy in the 21st Century
The rapid digitalization of the private and public sphere is not only fundamentally changing the way we interact, communicate or work but also affects politics and our democratic institutions. This course introduces students to research on digital democracy, i.e., research on the impact of digitalization on politics. It bridges current substantial topics of interest with the underlying advances in (digital) research technologies that allow to explore those topics and provides hands-on insights into the research process. The seminar will cover conceptual readings on these topics but also new methodological approaches that enable this kind of research and critically discuss their strengths and limitations. Students will develop a good understanding of current (quantitative) research in the social and behavioral sciences studying the implications of digitalization on politics with a particular focus on the role of political behavior. And they will familiarize themselves with state-of-the-art quantitative approaches in this domain, be able to evaluate their strengths and limitations and appropriately select suitable methods for their own research.
TikTok Politics – Navigating Information, Influence, and Online Harm
Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have fundamentally transformed how citizens encounter news, engage with political actors, and participate in public life. This course examines the shift toward algorithm-driven, short-form content and what this means for the accuracy and depth of political information, the spread of misinformation, and exposure to harmful online environments. Alongside these risks, we explore the rise of new political influencers, the dynamics of comment sections, and the effects of social media consumption on political knowledge and participation. Students will engage with cutting-edge empirical research and learn about the analytical tools to study digital political behavior systematically. Students will develop a good overview of current research on the implications of digitalization for political online behavior. And they will understand and learn to apply current best practices for studying these phenomena empirically.