Course: Digital Media and Cultural Practices
Academic year : 2026 / 2027
Field: Lettres and foreign languages
Branch: English
Specialty: Language and culture
Level: Master 1
Semester: 1
Intitulé de l’UE : Unité fondamentale
Credits : 4
Coefficients : 2
Learning Objectives:
• Examine the influence of digital media and artificial intelligence on the creation, dissemination, reception, and commercialization of culture.
• Develop critical analysis skills for authentic digital documents: social media posts, comments, podcasts, videos, Reels, Shorts, memes, advertisements, and content generated by artificial intelligence.
• Introduce students to the study of digital media as spaces for the production, circulation, transformation, and negotiation of cultural practices.
• Develop the ability to compare traditional cultural forms with their contemporary digital forms: narrative and digital storytelling, literary criticism and BookTok, humor and memes, political discourse and digital posts, traditional advertising and Reels/Shorts, etc.
• Initiate students into the main concepts and theoretical approaches related to digital media and culture: remediation, media convergence, participatory culture, multimodality, intertextuality, adaptation, digital discourse, semiotics, and meme culture.
• Study the transformation of narrative, humorous, political, advertising, and cultural practices under the influence of digital technologies.
• Raise awareness among students regarding the benefits and risks of cultural transmission, particularly through issues of tradition, social conformity, collective memory, and the questioning of inherited practices.
• Develop students' ability to articulate theory and the analysis of digital corpora, favoring a comparative and multidisciplinary approach.
Recommended Prerequisites:
• General knowledge in English language, literature, linguistics, and cultural studies.
• General knowledge in Algerian/Arabic/African/Muslim culture.
• Fundamental concepts related to culture, discourse, and narrative.
Recommended Prerequisites:
• General knowledge in English language, literature, linguistics, and cultural studies.
• General knowledge in Algerian/Arabic/African/Muslim culture.
• Fundamental concepts related to culture, discourse, narrative, representation, and identity.
• Knowledge of major literary and media genres: novels, short stories, narratives, discourse, advertising, criticism, interviews, etc.
• General familiarity with social media and contemporary digital practices (both in Algeria and globally).
• Elementary knowledge in discourse analysis and literary theory is an asset.
Contenu de la matière (14 à 16 axes/intitulés de cours obligatoires)
Axe 1: Introduction to Digital Media and cultural practices
Axe 2: Factors shaping cultural practices
Axe 3: Reactions to cultural practices
Axe 4: Mass media vs. Digital media (Digital storytelling)
Axe 5: Identity Construction and Virtual Communities
Axe 6: Cultural Memory, Heritage, and Literature in the Digital Era
Axe 7: Counter-narratives: Digital media Shaping of Cultural taste and public memory
Axe 8: From Jokes and Satire to Digital Humour
Axe 9: The Transformation of Reading Culture and Intertextuality in the Digital Age
Mode d’évaluation (CC ; Examen ; Mixte – préciser les pourcentages) :
Contrôle continu (40%):
*Active seminar participation and reading reflections (20%).
*Collaborative digital portfolio analyzing an online cultural
phenomenon/Onsite presentations (20%).
EXAMEN (60%): An extended academic paper following MLA 9th Edition guidelines
References: (but there should be extra ones during our sessions)
• Bolter, Jay David, and Richard Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. MIT Press.
• Couldry, Nick, and Andreas Hepp. The Mediated Construction of Reality. Polity Press.
• Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. NYU Press.
• Marwick, Alice E. Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social Media Age. Yale University Press.
• Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery” (1948). (the movie and the short story)
• The Stoning of Soraya M., directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh (2008). (the movie and the novella written by Freidoune Sahebjam)
• Not Without My Daughter, Directed by Brian Gilbert. (the movie and the novel written by Betty Mahmoody)
• Omar Ibn Said manuscript and any related media and Amir Abdelkader’s portraits and writings
• Algerian manuscripts, films and novels
• بوابة المخطوطات الجزائرية – البوابة الجزائرية للمخطوطات
Academic year : 2026 / 2027
Field: Lettres and foreign languages
Branch: English
Specialty: Language and culture
Level: Master 1
Semester: 1
Intitulé de l’UE : Unité fondamentale
Credits : 4
Coefficients : 2
Learning Objectives:
• Examine the influence of digital media and artificial intelligence on the creation, dissemination, reception, and commercialization of culture.
• Develop critical analysis skills for authentic digital documents: social media posts, comments, podcasts, videos, Reels, Shorts, memes, advertisements, and content generated by artificial intelligence.
• Introduce students to the study of digital media as spaces for the production, circulation, transformation, and negotiation of cultural practices.
• Develop the ability to compare traditional cultural forms with their contemporary digital forms: narrative and digital storytelling, literary criticism and BookTok, humor and memes, political discourse and digital posts, traditional advertising and Reels/Shorts, etc.
• Initiate students into the main concepts and theoretical approaches related to digital media and culture: remediation, media convergence, participatory culture, multimodality, intertextuality, adaptation, digital discourse, semiotics, and meme culture.
• Study the transformation of narrative, humorous, political, advertising, and cultural practices under the influence of digital technologies.
• Raise awareness among students regarding the benefits and risks of cultural transmission, particularly through issues of tradition, social conformity, collective memory, and the questioning of inherited practices.
• Develop students' ability to articulate theory and the analysis of digital corpora, favoring a comparative and multidisciplinary approach.
Recommended Prerequisites:
• General knowledge in English language, literature, linguistics, and cultural studies.
• General knowledge in Algerian/Arabic/African/Muslim culture.
• Fundamental concepts related to culture, discourse, and narrative.
Recommended Prerequisites:
• General knowledge in English language, literature, linguistics, and cultural studies.
• General knowledge in Algerian/Arabic/African/Muslim culture.
• Fundamental concepts related to culture, discourse, narrative, representation, and identity.
• Knowledge of major literary and media genres: novels, short stories, narratives, discourse, advertising, criticism, interviews, etc.
• General familiarity with social media and contemporary digital practices (both in Algeria and globally).
• Elementary knowledge in discourse analysis and literary theory is an asset.
Contenu de la matière (14 à 16 axes/intitulés de cours obligatoires)
Axe 1: Introduction to Digital Media and cultural practices
Axe 2: Factors shaping cultural practices
Axe 3: Reactions to cultural practices
Axe 4: Mass media vs. Digital media (Digital storytelling)
Axe 5: Identity Construction and Virtual Communities
Axe 6: Cultural Memory, Heritage, and Literature in the Digital Era
Axe 7: Counter-narratives: Digital media Shaping of Cultural taste and public memory
Axe 8: From Jokes and Satire to Digital Humour
Axe 9: The Transformation of Reading Culture and Intertextuality in the Digital Age
Mode d’évaluation (CC ; Examen ; Mixte – préciser les pourcentages) :
Contrôle continu (40%):
*Active seminar participation and reading reflections (20%).
*Collaborative digital portfolio analyzing an online cultural
phenomenon/Onsite presentations (20%).
EXAMEN (60%): An extended academic paper following MLA 9th Edition guidelines
References: (but there should be extra ones during our sessions)
• Bolter, Jay David, and Richard Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. MIT Press.
• Couldry, Nick, and Andreas Hepp. The Mediated Construction of Reality. Polity Press.
• Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. NYU Press.
• Marwick, Alice E. Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social Media Age. Yale University Press.
• Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery” (1948). (the movie and the short story)
• The Stoning of Soraya M., directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh (2008). (the movie and the novella written by Freidoune Sahebjam)
• Not Without My Daughter, Directed by Brian Gilbert. (the movie and the novel written by Betty Mahmoody)
• Omar Ibn Said manuscript and any related media and Amir Abdelkader’s portraits and writings
• Algerian manuscripts, films and novels
• بوابة المخطوطات الجزائرية – البوابة الجزائرية للمخطوطات
- Teacher: Soumia Bennani
- Teacher: S. Aidi
