What counts as “normal” these days and what qualifies as a “crisis” or even a “catastrophe”? This question is central not only to global politics but also to everyday life. From climate change to mental health, from economic instability to personal relationships, we are constantly monitoring the world and ourselves to evaluate how worried we should be: do we go on as before or is drastic action needed?

This course explores these urgent questions through the lens of media technology and culture. Media do not just report on crises—they shape how we perceive and experience them. News alerts, social media feeds, data visualization, storytelling, and self-tracking apps all influence our collective sense of normality and crisis. How do media establish what is routine and what is alarming? How do different formats—24/7 news cycles, viral hashtags, predictive algorithms—construct and mediate states of crisis? And what happens when the “new normal” is defined as perpetual crisis?

Through case studies of disaster films, live news reporting, social media activism, and everyday tracking technologies, students will develop a critical understanding of how media shape contemporary experiences of normality, crisis, and catastrophe. Together with these case studies students will engage with conceptual frameworks from cultural studies concerning affect, representation, and agency which provide critical insight the mediation of normality and crisis today.

Day, time, location and costs

• 8 April - 20 May 2026
• Wednesday 11:00-15:00
• Oudemanhuispoort D1.09 
• Costs: € 165 (AUV-members € 148)

Lecturers

Important to know

• The registration deadline for this OUC is 19 March 2026.
• For the current study schedule, please consult the UvA timetable website
• Study material: Scholarly journal articles and book chapters available digitally via Canvas and the UvA library online.
• You can only audit an OUC, which means that you may only attend lectures and cannot attend seminars, take part in the examination, or obtain ECTS credits.

Public programme Humanities

This Open UvA Course is part of the Faculty of Humanities' public programme. Beside Open UvA Courses, the public programme also comprises special lectures and series of courses. The public programme is intended for alumni, employees looking for extra training, and all others who are interested in art, culture, philosophy, language and literature, history and religion.

See all Open UvA Courses in Humanities