CAPI 3050: Topics in Capitalism Studies: Big Tech Capitalism and the Data Economy
University of North Carolina, Charlotte
An interdisciplinary perspective on a specific topic,�related to the field of Capitalism Studies. Section information text: This course examines how major technology companies such as Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, and TikTok reshape global markets, labor systems, and everyday social life. The course introduces frameworks like surveillance capitalism and techno‑feudalism to explore how data extraction and platform control generate new forms of economic power. Students analyze the societal influence of digital technologies, from algorithmic personalization to large‑scale infrastructure shaping communication and culture. We investigate AI, automation, and their implications for inequality, labor displacement, and the future of work. Additional topics include platform monopolies, intellectual property struggles, and the tension between privatized data regimes and the digital commons.
Average GPA: 2.95
Grade distribution records: 186 students across 13 terms.
Grade distribution
| Grade | Students | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| A | 63 | 33.9% |
| B | 66 | 35.5% |
| C | 29 | 15.6% |
| D | 6 | 3.2% |
| F | 10 | 5.4% |
| W | 9 | 4.8% |
Based on 186 student grade records across 13 terms and 14 professors.
Instructors
- Ipshita Ghosh 39 students, Average GPA 3.08
- Jason Newton 37 students, Average GPA 3.00
- Jill Yavorsky 28 students, Average GPA 2.71
- Lee Ann Pounds 21 students, Average GPA 2.75
- Christopher Cameron 10 students, Average GPA 2.00
- Justin Grandinetti 10 students, Average GPA 3.80
- Susan Cloninger 10 students, Average GPA 3.78
- Jason Giersch 7 students, Average GPA 3.43
- Jill Massino 5 students, Average GPA 1.25
- Mark West 5 students, Average GPA 3.40
- Nicholas Canada 5 students, Average GPA 2.80
- Jonathan Perry 4 students, Average GPA 2.00
- Martin Shuster 3 students, Average GPA 2.33
- Kelly Finley 2 students, Average GPA 3.50