Course Information

Course Code: 08-29-GTh-4
Instructor: Dr. Timur Ergen (tergen@uni-bremen.de)
Institution: University of Bremen
Semester: Winter Semester 2025/2026
Schedule: Wednesdays 14:00 - 16:00, weekly (from 15/10/25)
Location: FVG M2010
Next Date: Wednesday, 15.10.2025 14:00 - 16:00, Room: FVG M2010

This seminar examines the effects of digital technologies on social orders, individuals and social inequalities within the framework of a concrete societal problem area. The seminar deepens central concepts and arguments through joint discussion of the latest applications and developments in sociological theory. At the center of the seminar is Marion Fourcade and Kieran Healy’s monograph The Ordinal Society.

The course explores how digital classification systems, algorithmic rankings, and data-driven governance mechanisms are transforming social stratification and individual life chances in contemporary society.

Assessment

The seminar is part of the module ‘Gesellschaftstheorie.’ Detailed information on assessment and grading will be provided in the main lecture.

Session 1: Introduction and Organization

October 15, 2025

Session 2: The Society of Algorithms

October 22, 2025

Required Reading:

  • Burrell, J. and M. Fourcade, 2021. The Society of Algorithms. Annual Review of Sociology 47, 213–237.

Additional Material:

Watch one of the following two documentaries:

Session 3: The Sociology of Citizenship

October 29, 2025

Required Reading:

  • Marshall, T. H., 1965 [1949]: Citizenship and Social Class, S. 71–134 in: T.H. Marshall, Class, Citizenship, and Social Development. Essays by T.H. Marshall, Anchor Books (especially: “The Early Impact of Citizenship”, S. 91–105).

Session 4: Rankings, Ratings and the Credit Card

November 5, 2025

Required Reading:

  • Rona-Tas, A., 2017. The Off-Label Use of Consumer Credit Ratings. Historical Social Research 42, 1, 52–76.

Additional Material:

Watch the documentary ‘The Secret History of the Credit Card’ (2004): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mHsTKvAuZc

Session 5: Enter the Ordinal Society

November 19, 2025

Required Reading:

  • Fourcade, M. und K. Healy, 2024. The Ordinal Society. Harvard University Press, Introduction.

Session 6: The Box of Delights

November 26, 2025

Required Reading:

  • Fourcade, M. und K. Healy, 2024. The Ordinal Society. Harvard University Press, Ch. 1, pp. 33–66.

Session 7: The Data Imperative

December 3, 2025

Required Reading:

  • Fourcade, M. und K. Healy, 2024. The Ordinal Society. Harvard University Press, ch. 2, pp. 67–99.

Session 8: Classification Situations

December 10, 2025

Required Reading:

  • Fourcade, M. und K. Healy, 2024. The Ordinal Society. Harvard University Press, ch. 3, pp. 100–131.

Session 9: The Great Unbundling

December 17, 2025

Required Reading:

  • Fourcade, M. und K. Healy, 2024. The Ordinal Society. Harvard University Press, ch. 4, pp. 132–161.

Winter Break: December 22, 2025–January 2, 2026

Session 10: Layered Financialization

January 7, 2026

Required Reading:

  • Fourcade, M. und K. Healy, 2024. The Ordinal Society. Harvard University Press, ch. 5, pp. 162–186.

Session 11: The Road to Selfdom

January 14, 2026

Required Reading:

  • Fourcade, M. und K. Healy, 2024. The Ordinal Society. Harvard University Press, ch. 6, pp. 187–227.

Session 12: Ordinal Citizenship

January 21, 2026

Required Reading:

  • Fourcade, M. und K. Healy, 2024. The Ordinal Society. Harvard University Press, ch. 7, pp. 228–258.

Session 13: The Rightness of Being Ranked

January 28, 2026

Required Reading:

  • Fourcade, M. und K. Healy, 2024. The Ordinal Society. Harvard University Press, ch. 8, pp. 259–286.