IM948 - Platform Economy, Society & Culture

20/30 CATS

Term 2

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Module Convenor

Prof. Sanjay Sharma

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Module description

This module explores the online platform as a distinctive and evolving organisational form in contemporary society. Platforms are reshaping economies, cultures, and everyday interactions. As assemblages of people, devices, software, and algorithmic management, platforms are best studied through interdisciplinary methods. You will engage with key concepts and debates to understand how platforms function as infrastructures of value extraction and governance. Through case studies and readings, we examine how platforms structure labour, attention, and data, and whether it is possible to have alternative and more equitable practices.

A central focus of the module is the mechanics and consequences of data-driven systems, including ranking algorithms, user evaluations, and forms of digital surveillance. In addition to analysing dominant platform models, the module introduces alternative approaches such as decentralised infrastructures. The combination of lectures, seminars, and assignment-based work will equip you to critically assess the evolving role of platforms in reshaping society.

Module aims

The overarching objective of this module is to enable students to critically evaluate claims about the platform model and the political coalitions around it.

• Develop a critical understanding of platforms as organisational, economic, and cultural infrastructures that reshape labour, governance, and everyday life.
• Enable students to analyse the political, social, and technological dynamics of platform systems through interdisciplinary approaches and real-world case studies.
• Equip students with the conceptual and analytical tools to evaluate claims about platform power, algorithmic governance, and datafication across different sectors and societies.
• Build capacity for independent research by applying critical methods to investigate platform-related problems through seminars, discussions, and assignment-based work.

Outline syllabus

The module explores the social, economic, and political dynamics of platform systems across key thematic areas: platform governance and regulation; datafication and algorithmic control; platform cultures and influencer economies; and emerging alternatives, including decentralised models. Students will engage with topics such as the politics of ranking systems, user interactions, digital inequality, and surveillance capitalism, alongside critical debates around labour and control. The module also considers the ethical and societal challenges posed by dominant platform infrastructures, while examining efforts to build more equitable forms and practices.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Critically analyse the platform model as a distinctive organisational form, evaluating its political, economic, and cultural implications in contemporary society.
• Apply interdisciplinary approaches to investigate complex real-world problems related to platform infrastructures, datafication, and algorithmic governance.
• Demonstrate the ability to work across disciplinary boundaries, drawing on skill sets to engage with case-based research and analysis.
• Evaluate and apply appropriate methods to examine the dynamics of platform governance, regulation, and social contestation.

Indicative reading list

Castelle, M. (2016). Marketplace platforms or exchanges? Financial metaphors for regulating the collaborative economy. Economic Sociology_The European Electronic Newsletter, 17(3), 1426

Gehl, R.W. (2025) Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media. London: Oxford University

Press. Gillespie, T. (2010). The politics of ‘platforms’. New Media & Society, 12(3), 347-364.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444809342738

Narayan, D. (2024) The political economy of digital platforms: Key directions. Platforms & Society 1, 29768624241263071. https://doi.org/10.1177/29768624241263071

Plantin, J-C.,Lagoze, C., Edwards, P.N., & Sandvig, C. (2018) Infrastructure studies meet platform studies in the age of Google and Facebook. New Media & Society, 20(1), 293310. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444816661553

Plantin, J. C., & de Seta, G. (2019). WeChat as infrastructure: The techno-nationalist shaping of Chinese digital platforms. Chinese Journal of Communication, 12(3), 257273. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2019.1572633
Prey, R. (2020a). Locating Power in Platformization: Music Streaming Playlists and Curatorial Power. Social Media + Society, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120933291

Rahman, K.S., & Thelen, K. (2019). The Rise of the Platform Business Model and the Transformation of Twenty-First-Century Capitalism. Politics & Society, 47(2), 177204. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0032329219838932

Spier, S. (2025) The Politics of Platform Technologies: A Critical Conceptualization of the Platform and Sharing Economy. Philos. Technol. 38, 12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-025-00840-5

Vallas, S.P. & Schor, J.B. (2020). What Do Platforms Do? Understanding the Gig Economy. Annual Review
of Sociology, 46, 273294. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-121919-054857

Vertesi, J., Goldstein, A., Enriquez, D., Liur, L. & Miller, K. T. (2020).“Pre-Automation: Insourcing and Automating the Gig Economy.” Sociologica, 14(3).