PHIL 366

PHIL 366: Computers and Culture
Instructor: Richard Kover

Course Description

The computer and information revolution has widely been heralded as the defining event of our time, so much so that some have taken to christening our era “the digital age,” for from the boardroom to the bedroom there seem to be few areas of our daily and working life that have remained untouched by the advent of digital technology and media. Indeed, so rapid and pervasive have been their influence that frequently their psychological, cultural, and political impact go unnoticed, passing as they do as part of the inconspicuous periphery of background assumptions and practices that inform day-to-day existence, with once provocative metaphors and forecasts now deemed common-sense. In this course, we will examine the interrelationship between information technology systems and their broader social, cultural, political, economic, and philosophical context, seeking to uncover how the information revolution has not just simply been a technical revolution, but a social, economic, political, and cultural one as well. In particular, a specific topic of focus for class this term will be social media.