Humanities Major (HUM), BA at Harding University

The MA Post-Digital Humanities course is a new, innovative and inter-disciplinary course which combines humanist enquiry with digital media expression. It focuses on the creative application of Humanities-inspired critical thinking to real world challenges.

On this course you will study theoretical approaches to living in a digital society, coupled with an advanced understanding of social science research, and will have the option to specialise in either digital politics or digital society, or take a general route. This degree draws on academic expertise from both the Department of History, Politics and Philosophy, and the Department of Sociology.

You will be introduced to an overview of qualitative and quantitative digital methods, while becoming familiar with the field of digital social research in its ever-growing diversity. You will be taught a set of professional skills necessary to be a successful digital researcher, whether in academia, policy, or industry. There is the option to specialise and graduate with a bracketed award through your choice of option units, allowing you to cater to your own individual interests and academic development. 

MSc Digital Society (Digital Politics) will cover theories and practices of digital politics and media as well as an in-depth exploration of digital politics around the world. 

MSc Digital Society (Digital Sociology) will cover theories and practices of digital sociology as well as an in-depth exploration of the global digital challenges and crises.

As the role of digital technologies, from social media through to algorithms and artificial intelligence, continue to play a prominent role in every aspect of social life, research into our digital society is becoming more and more significant. Many societies have seen a dramatic change in the way transport, consumption and other services are managed and delivered through apps, platforms, and other digital services. However, with the positives come many challenges, such as the inequalities digital technology generates in society and the rise of fake news, misinformation and cyberwarfare.

MSc Digital Society allows you to study this relationship between digital technologies and society in an interdisciplinary and research-informed environment. We aim to equip you with the tools needed to become an expert in understanding how digital technologies shape societies, nationally and internationally, through a range of units that take a global view; alongside research that draws on empirical examples from around the world. You will be taught by leading experts in the field who are engaged in research at the cutting edge of current developments, relevant to the lives of people across the globe. You will also become part of a community of staff and PhD students in the digital society research cluster, who can offer mentorship and knowledge exchange.

Graduates of this course will be suited for future careers in any industry that relies heavily on digital technologies, or a career in public research institutions, as well as being equipped to go on to further study. 

This program will provide you with an opportunity for your own work to engage with the widening horizons of new practices. It will also enable you to invent methodologies, reframe urgencies, and reimagine the contexts for work.

Building on theoretical grounding, the program offers an opportunity to bring together different sources of knowledge, methodologies, and models of making public.

This is practice-driven and research-based program which can incorporate projects in progress, collaborations with organizations, and platforms. It can also be an opportunity to rethink the circulation and meaning of how/to whom work is communicated, and to put forms of trans disciplinarity into practice. Seminars are taught six times a year, encouraging those working in the field to be able to maintain their work. Participants are artists, curators, organizers, researchers, and activists.