INTS 348: Digital Futures
INTS 348-001: Digital Futures
(Fall 2015)
03:00 PM to 04:15 PM MW
Section Information for Fall 2015
This course introduces students to the latest technological, philosophical and creative thinking on the future of human society in a digital age. For this semester’s seminar, we will be focusing on two main themes: trans/posthumanism and “smart” cities.
First, we will explore what it means to be human in the digital age and how advances in science and technologies are transforming the human body. We will consider human / technology interfaces, how our bodies increasingly come into contact with digital technologies, and what that means for the future of humans. We will explore various philosophies and cultural ideas that have surfaced around human’s transformation in the digital era, and what benefits, concerns, or questions emerge with our increasing contact with digital technologies. And we will interrogate the social, cultural, and ethical consequences of trans/posthumanism.
Then in the second half of the semester, we will explore the emergence of the “smart city.” We will examine how major cities around the world attempt to levy digital technologies to help enhance open government and democracy, urban sustainability, and social and public health, for example, as well as how these cities potentially threaten privacy in the form of increased data collection, surveillance, and governmental / corporate control.
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Course Information from the University Catalog
Credits: 3,6
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.
