Critical and Creative Data Studies: a course narrative

Narrative creator: Carina Albrecht

Creator’s note: I have initially developed this course to meet the needs of undergraduate students in their 3rd-year of a Communication program. Therefore, some elements of the course are tailored towards media theory and its entanglements with technology. However, I believe the course modules can be easily adapted to other programs and theories, as the central concepts apply to any discipline.

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What is data? How is data generated? Classified? Cleaned? Stored? “Cooked?” What are machines “learning” from data? What do machines “predict” from data? Why does it matter?

This teaching narrative unpacks the key concepts related to data concerning their history, technical approaches, and implications for contemporary society.

The students explore a combination of primary texts and theoretical approaches that discuss the consequences of data capture, storage, analysis, and prediction. Students also work with case studies during hands-on data science labs to explore the theory learned in class.



Use the course map below to explore the components of this course narrative. Hover over each of the components to learn about its contents, activities, and readings. Each component can be a week or more of the course.

Alternatively, you can download a pdf syllabus here.