LS 160E
Technology, New Media, and Contemporary Experience
Philosophy and Values
Most of us love new technologies, from robots to Google, Twitter, and Facebook, to nanotechnology, and stem cells. This Discovery Course explores the question What is the ‘essence’ of technology? What is a technological worldview? What is its impact on contemporary experience? The goals of this course are to provide students with skills to understand technology in a broad historical context, and to analyze and anticipate technological trends.
Our approach is inspired by Heidegger’s 1954 essay, “The Question Concerning Technology.” The course will also include Heidegger’s “The Thing” and “The Origin of the Work of Art,” and essays by Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Frederick Taylor, and others, and selected films and artworks.
The course has no prerequisites but is geared toward ambitious and mature undergraduates who are willing to read carefully and think deeply about technology and western values.
Terms Offered
- Spring 2010