CS213Z,TechnologyandSociety
WilfridLaurierUniversity
WaterlooON
Lectures:T&Th,9:00-11:50am
DAWB2-108
PROFESSORINFORMATION
Prof:NicholasRay([email protected])
Office:DAWB3-129
Hours:TBA
COURSEDESCRIPTION
Whatistherelationshipbetweentechnologyandsociety?Theaimofthiscourseistostudy
technology as a social practice from diverse disciplinary perspectives, including history,
philosophy, sociology, cultural studies, women’s studies, and more. We will examine the
natureoftechnologyandourrelationshiptoit;thequestionoftechnologicaldeterminism,
andtowhatextentourtechnologyis(orisbecoming)autonomous;technologiesoftheself,
and their role in producing and reproducing our conceptions of sexuality, gender, race,
bodilyandcognitiveability,andwhatitmeanstobehuman;technologyandsocialvalues;
the role of techno-experts in an increasingly technological age; technology as a kind of
pervasive ideology; problems associated with a surveillance society; technology and
consumerism;andmany,manymoreissuesthatcannotallbelistedhere.
COURSEOBJECTIVES
The goal is that everyone in the class learns to navigate conceptual and critical issues
relatedtoouruseoftechnology.However,itisalsoamajorgoalofthiscoursetodevelopa
certainsetofskills,includinggoodreadingandwritingskills,goodcriticalreflectionskills,
and the ability to apply course concepts to concrete examples of our use of technology.
Bytheendofthiscourse,youshouldbeableto:
1. Defineandusekeyconceptsnecessaryforstudyingscienceandtechnologyassocial
andculturalphenomena
2. Analyseargumentsincurrentdebates–academic,sociocultural,andpolitical
3. Understand how an interdisciplinary approach to the study of technology and
society can help illuminate a range of questions regarding issues as varied as our
useofsocialmediatoglobalclimatechange
4. Criticallyanalyzecoursematerial,peerarguments,andyourownwork
5. Utilizecriticalcommentsonyourworktomakethatworkbetter
6. Recognize and explicate the difference between the descriptive (and often more
sociological) study of technology as a social practice vs. the normative (and often
morephilosophical)studyofhowweoughttousetechnology
CS213,TechnologyandSociety1
WHATYOUMUSTDOTOSUCCEED
• Attendclass,anddomostofthereadingsmostofthetime
• Bewillingtoelaborateyourposition.Weoftenbeginthinkingaboutanissuequite
vaguely.Workingwithothersmighthelpfocusyourideas.
• Bewillingtoengageincriticismanddebate.Treatyourinterlocutorwithrespect,
andapplytheprincipleofcharity.Also,expectthesamefromyourinterlocutor.We
wanttobehumbleintheprocessofknowledge-production.Weareallfallible,and
weareallpartofacommunityofinquirersthatcanhelpusovercomeourbiases
andunreflectiveassumptions.
• Also,rememberthatitisn’tabout“winningtheargument”—itisaboutgiving
everyonetheopportunitytobetterdevelophisorherthoughts.Dialoguecanend
withthesamefundamentaldisagreementswithwhichitbegan,andstillbevery
worthwhile.
• Don’tgoitalone.Youhaveasystemofpeers,andtheprofessor;relyonthemto
helpmakeyourideasbetter!
• Followguidelines,andstayontopofassignments.Thiskindofcourserequires
youtothinkcritically,andnotjustprocessfacts.Thinkingtakestime.Giveyourself
thattime!
CORRESPONDENCEANDELECTRONICDEVICEPOLICY
1. Makesureyourquestionisn’teasilyansweredbylookingatthesyllabus,orby
readingtheassignmentoutlinesonMLS!Trynottowastetimecraftingane-mail.
2. Alle-mailsshouldinclude“CS213”inthesubjectheading.Thiswillensurethey
don’tgetlost.Leave48hoursforreply(thoughIusuallyrespondthatday).
3. Thinkbeforesendinganylongere-mailsdealingwithsubstantialcontent.Saveyour
questionsforclassdiscussion,orstopbymyofficeforanextendedchat.
4. Youmayusealaptoporatabletfunctioningasanote-takingdevice.Pleaseturnoff
phones.Ifyouarefoundtobeusingyourdevicefornon-courserelatedactivities,
youwillbeaskedtoleave.Thisisbecausethereisawealthofempiricalevidence
thatshowsuseofscreensinaclasshasanegativeimpactonyouANDTHOSE
AROUNDYOU!Ifyouareable,pleasemovetothebackoftheroomifyouareusing
ascreensoasnottodisruptthelearningofothers.
5. Ifyouhavenoaccessibilityissue,itislikelybesttojustuseapenandpaper.Many
studiesshowthatyoubetterrememberwhatyouwritedownbyhand,andthatyou
aremorelikelytohavecreativeandlesslinearthoughtswhenusingapenorpencil.
(Dowiththisinformationwhatyouwant;youmaybeanexceptiontothescience,
butyouverylikelyarenot.)
CS213,TechnologyandSociety2
ASSESSMENTS
Assignment KeyDetailsDueDate Value KeySkills
ReadingAnalyses
(onaspecific
passageofaspecific
readingyoufind
interesting)
Proposaland
Annotated
Bibliography
PeerReviewof
Proposal
TermProject
DiscussionsGroups
2pagesorsoeach;
theseshouldbe
concise,andexhibit
aknowledgeof
coursematerialwe
havenotyet
covered
2to3pages,
includingaworking
thesis/centralidea,
andanoverviewof
howthisworkfits
intoexisting
researchonyour
chosentopic,and
whyitisimportant
Mutualevaluationof
proposals;this
feedbackwillbe
usefulforcraftinga
morepolisheddraft
oftheProposal,but
alsofortheTerm
Paperitself
Essay;multi-media
educational
campaign;literature
review;media
analysis(e.g.film
review;etc);length
dependsonkindof
project,butthe
essayshouldbe
about6to8pages
Cometoclassallof
thetime,andspeak
regularly;itisabout
qualityof
contribution,not
necessarilyquantity
July11,18,and
August1
3x10%=
30%
Criticalreadingand
writing;argument
analysis
Inclassrough
drafts:July26or
28(dependingon
yourDiscussion
Group)
Finaldraftsfor
Nicktoread:July
31
July26or28
(dependingon
yourDiscussion
Group)
15%
Preparation;
effectivewriting;
research;
preparingyour
workforpeer
review
10%
Groupwork;
evaluationskills;
givingandtaking
criticalfeedback;
discussingyour
work
August15
30%
Creativity;critical
reasoningand
argumentation
skills;
communication;
writing;research
Ongoing
15%
Groupwork;peer
evaluation;effective
comm.skills
Latepenaltiesof10%oftheassignmentvalueperday(includingweekends)
StudentswhomissthePeerReviewwilllosethosegrades(10%ofoverallgrade!)
CS213,TechnologyandSociety3
BRIEFOVERVIEWOFASSESSMENTS(DetailedGuidelinestoFollowonMLS)
ReadingAnalyses
This is your chance to talk about one or more of the upcoming readings we will be
discussing.Itisyourjobtochooseapassagefromareadingthatyoufindinteresting,and
analyseitinlightoftheauthor’soverallargument,orothercoursematerial,ormaybeeven
otherreadingsyouaredoing(orhavedone)forothercourses.Thepointistobeconcise,
clear,andveryfocussed.Thiswillhelpyouwithclassdiscussions,too!
TermPaperProposal
ThiswillbeashortoverviewofwhatyouplanondoingforyourTermPaper.Itisexpected
that you will have a tentative thesis, working introduction, a rough list of arguments you
thinkyoumightmake,andanannotatedbibliography.ThisProposalwillthenbereadand
assessedbyapeerinclassonJuly26or28.(Seeimmediatelybelowfordetails.)Apolished
draftoftheProposalisdueonJuly31tothedropboxonMLS.
PeerReviewofProposal
DuringyourDiscussionGroup,eitheronJuly26orJuly28,eachstudentwillbringacopyof
hisorherProposal.Itwillthenbereadbyapeerandassessed(onaseparatesheetof
papertobeprovidedbyNick).ThesecommentswillbegradedbyNick,buttheirprimary
purposesisformative,notsummative.Doingthesecomments,receivingthemonyourown
work,andusingthemtocraftabetterProposalwillbeintegraltothequalityoftheTerm
Paperthatisproducedattheendoftheterm.
TermPaper
Thisisamajorpaperthatyouwillhavebeendevelopingsinceapproximatelythemid-point
of the term. You will utilise previous work on the Proposal to craft a Term Paper that
exploresconceptualandtheoreticalissuesrelatedtopubliccommunication.
DiscussionGroups
The class will be divided into two Discussion Groups. I will lecture for two hours each
TuesdayandThursday,andthefirstDiscussionGroupwillmeetafterlectureonTuesday,
the second Discussion Group will meet after lecture on Thursday. You may switch
discussiongroupsonlyifyoucanfindapersoninthecorrespondinggrouptotradewith
you.Otherwise,ifyoumissTuesday,youwillnotbeabletocomeonThursday(unlessyou
haveadocumentedillness,medicalappointment,orotherexigentcircumstances).
CS213,TechnologyandSociety4
COURSEMATERIALS
Thereisnotextbookfortheclass.TheClassSchedulecontainsreadingsthatwillbehelpful
fornegotiatingclassdiscussions.ThesereadingswillbemadeavailableonMLS,eitheras
PDFfilesorlinkstoonlinesourcematerial.Occasionally,wewillhavetogetthesereadings
throughthelibrary,inwhichcaseyouneedtofollowtheARESCourseReservesystem,a
linkforwhichwillalsobeonMLS.Wewillalsobemakinguseofnewspaperandmagazine
articles,snippetsoftelevisionshowsandfilms,andothermedia.
MYLEARNINGSPACE(COURSEWEBSITE)
MLSisthemainmodeofcommunicationforthiscourseafterlectureande-mail.Nickwill
bepostingcoursematerials,announcements,anypossiblechangestothereadingschedule,
andgradesviaMLS.Studentsalsosubmittheirwrittenworkandweeklyquestionsusing
MLS.BecausetheMLSsiteissoimportant,studentsarestronglyencouragedtoregularly
accessthesitesoasnottofallbehind.
TENTATIVESCHEDULE
Herearetopicsandrelatedreadings.Wewillcovermoreinlecturethanisincludedinthe
readings,sothisisNOTacourseyoucandowellinwithoutcomingtolectureandengaging
indiscussion.Listedherearearticlesthatcloselymatchorcomplimentthecontentofeach
lecture,butalotofthemapplytoanumberoftopicswewilldiscuss,andwewilladdress
these connections as we go. The readings are listed in order of importance, and it is not
expectedthatyouwillreadeverything,butthatyouwillreadlots!
UNITONE:ABRIEFHISTORYOFTHEORETICALDEVELOPMENTS
July5,Introduction–TheAncientRootsoftheConceptofTechnology
Plato,“OnDialecticandTechne”(fromTheRepublic,BookVIII)
Aristotle,“OnTechneandEpisteme”(fromNichomacheanEthics,BookVI)
July7,EnlightenmentViewofScienceandTechnology
Bacon,excerptsfromTheNewOrganonandTheNewAtlantis
Kant,“IdeaforaUniversalHistoryfromaCosmopolitanPerspective”
Comte,“Chapter1”fromCourseofPositivePhilosophy
UNITTWO:CRITIQUEORTECHNOPHOBIA?
July12,MarxandMumford
Marx,“TheLabourProcess”and“TheFetishismofCommodities”fromDasKapital
Mumford,“AuthoritarianandDemocraticTechnics”
MarxandEngels,“TheRulingClassandtheRulingIdeas”
July14,HeideggerandtheEssenceofTechnology
Hediegger,excerptfromTheQuestionConcerningTechnology
Arendt,excerptfromTheHumanCondition
CS213,TechnologyandSociety5
July19,TechnocracyandTechnologyasIdeology
Marcuse,excerptfromOneDimensionalMan
Habermas,“TechnologyasIdeology”
UNIT3:OURUSEOFTECHNOLOGY,ANDITSUSEOFUS
July21,TechnologicalDeterminism
Chandler,“TechnologicalandMediaDeterminism”
McLuhan,“TheMediumistheMessage”
Latour,“Actor-NetworkTheory”
Wyatt,“TechnologicalDeterminismisDead;LongLiveTechnologicalDeterminism”
July26,TechnologyandHumanEnds
Dewey,“WhatIBelieve”
Mumford,“ToolUsersvs.HomoSapiensandtheMegamachine”
Merchant,“MiningtheEarth’sWomb”
July28,TechnologyandControl
Marcuse,“TheNewFormsofControl”
Foucault,“Panopticism”fromDisciplineandPunish
Deleuze,“PostscripttoSocietiesofControl”
Simon,“TheReturnofPanopticism:SurveillanceandSociety”
UNIT4:TRANSHUMANISM,TECHNOLOGY,ANDIDENTITY
August2,ArtificialIntelligence
FilmScreening,ExMachina
August4,CyborgsandCyberpunk
Ellison,“IHaveNoMouth,andIMustScream”
Vonnegut,“HarrisonBergeron”
August9,FeministPerspectivesonTechnology
Wajcman,“FeministTheoriesofTechnology”
Haraway,“TheCyborgManifesto”
Gupta,“IsThereSuchaThingasFeministTechnology?”
August11,RaceandTechnology
Chun,“Introduction:Raceand/asTechnology;or,HowtodoThingswithRace”
Coleman,“RaceasTechnology”
CS213,TechnologyandSociety6
___________________________________________
ACCESSIBLELEARNINGCENTRE
The Accessible Learning Centre provides academic support to students with disabilities, such as
accommodatedexaminations,assistivetechnology,alternate-formatcoursematerials,learningstrategiesand
study skills, note taking and tutoring contacts. Students with disabilities are accommodated to remove
obstaclesthatwouldotherwiseimpedeparticipationandsuccessintheiruniversityexperience.Disabilities
supportedinclude(butarenotlimitedto)mobility,learning,medical,psychiatric/psychological,chronicpain,
acquiredbraininjury,visionandhearing.
While documentation of a disability is required, any student who suspects a disability should contact the
Centre.
ACADEMICANDRESEARCHMISCONDUCT
Academicmisconductisanactbyastudent,orbystudentsworkingonateamproject,whichmayresultina
false evaluation of the student(s), or which represents an attempt to unfairly gain an academic advantage,
wherethestudenteitherkneworoughtreasonablytohaveknownthatitwasmisconduct.Whetherornota
student intended to commit academic misconduct is not relevant for a finding of academic misconduct.
Hurriedorcarelesssubmissionofassignmentsdoesnotexcusestudentsfromresponsibilityforverifyingthe
academicintegrityoftheirworkbeforesubmittingit.
CS213,TechnologyandSociety7