This course studies the interaction between society and technologies in a comparative and multicultural perspective. Some topics covered include the relationship between technology and human society; technology, culture and values; technology in the new global economy; development and inequality; electronic democracy; how technology has transformed work and employment; and the challenges of technological progress and the role that society plays in addressing these challenges.

This course is an investigation into the relationship between society and what we call technology. Rather than accept that technology develops through some set of natural laws around which society can only react – an idea we call technological determinism – a sociological perspective reveals that society and technology are mutually constituted through a history of emerging constructions, conflicts, and coincidences. We will study a variety of cases about the social nature of technology in areas ranging from the factory to the home, the hospital to the ocean, and the desert to the internet. Through these cases we will consider questions of politics, ethics, and culture. Our goal is to discover the dynamic role of technology used in society, and the role of society in making those technologies. Remember the slogan: it could be otherwise.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills