Winter Term Course - January 2006

Courses for Upper-Class Honors Students

Imagining Technology: Computers and Contemporary Culture
Professor: Megan Conklin
Meeting times: Monday-Friday, 1:30-4:30

This course will examine what roles the computer and related technologies, such as the Internet, play in contemporary culture. Synthesizing elements of computing sciences with sociology, film studies, and literary criticism, this course investigates technology both as a medium and as a catalyst for cultural identity and social change.  Students will be challenged to see the computer as more than just a word processor or giant encyclopedia. Computer technology is seen in fiction, film, games, and daily life as a reason for (and solution to) many of the problems in contemporary society.  Using a combination of reflective and researched essays, students will reconcile their own experiences using computer technology with what is shown in contemporary culture.