Anthropology
ANTH 346 Technology and Society (4)
This course focuses on the social aspects of technology, such as how technology practices, beliefs, and attitudes are shaped by age, class, and (sub-)culture. Most of the primary research will be provided by the students themselves, based on their qualitative investigations of uses and interpretations of technology, including their own. The majority of the data will be taken from the U.S., but we will also examine uses and interpretations of technology in other areas, such as Western Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Possible topics include social patterns and variations in the attribution of human qualities to robots and other technology; reactions to artificial intelligence and surveillance technology, ranging from resistance to indifference and positive embrace; and the sociolinguistic aspects of communication through phones, video-conferencing, and other media.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences; World Engagement: Cultural Values
- Offering: Annually
- Instructor: Wogan