Observing Opinions: The Role of Theories in CCS

In this episode, Professor Hartmut Wessler from the University of Mannheim unpacks the evolving role of theory in Computational Communication Science (CCS). Hartmut explains why strong theoretical frameworks remain essential for making sense of complex data and how computational theories differ from traditional approaches in communication research. He also shares which theories he finds most compelling right now and how his work blends text and image analysis to tackle big societal questions like climate change and migration. We discuss whether today’s theories need to evolve to keep pace with new data-driven methods — and why theory, far from fading, is more crucial than ever for guiding meaningful, responsible research in the age of big data.