Web Science – beyond the Web as an everyday tool
Web Science is an emerging interdisciplinary field or subject. Quite a few of us use the web on a daily basis and take many of its features for granted. Thinking critically about it as a piece of technology that shapes and is shaped by social forces allows us to understand what differentiates the web from other communication technologies. Doing this however is not easy. It requires various forms of intellectual gymnastics, starting with a willingness to adopt a global view, mixed with contextual awareness and an in-depth technical understanding. Then Web Science takes all of its students far from the comfort of traditional disciplinary categories. It demands at the very least some familiarity with the basics of web architecture as well as the social theory of the relationship between technology and society (believe me when I say that this is the intellectual equivalent of a ‘double twisting double layout’ in gymnastics).

Interdisciplinarity
Much more than the latest academic vogue, interdisciplinarity is essential to study the wide-ranging questions that Web Science aims to answer. But that too is hard to do. Disciplinary silos come with their own language, ideas and sets of paradigms. Breaking through to find common ground requires openness and a lot of patience. It also means stepping in someone else’s shoes for a bit and trying to see the world they see to find out whether there are pieces that vaguely seem to fit and might provide some of the story put together that way. I think I’ve exhausted the gymnastics analogy, but again this is a pretty tough exercise.

Why study Web Science?
Simply because as a course it has been designed to give you the tools to make all of the above not only manageable but thoroughly enjoyable.

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