Society and Technology Residential College 098
Technology Equals Progress?

Course Information

Office Hours

Useful Material

Projects

• Library Research Project


• Ethnographic Study Project


• Craft Project


• Final Project Schedule

Reading Assignments

• The Machines Stops—E. M. Forster (JW: ch 2)

• Technopoly: The Judgment of Thamus—Neil Postman (NP: ch 1)
• Does Improved Technology Mean Progress?—Leo Marx (Technology Review, January 1987, pp. 33-41)

• Neil Gaiman: Bucknell Forum (first 31 minutes)
• Technological Progress and Human Happiness—Nicholas Rescher (Unpopular Essays on Technological Progress: ch 1)

• Common Time Assignment
• Chapter 2 American Wasteland, Jonathan Bloom
• Chapter 8 American Wasteland, Jonathan Bloom
• Catching the Wave—Gregory Stock "Redesigning Humans": ch 5
• The Prolongation of Life—Francis Fukuyama "Our Posthuman Future": ch 4

• The Clone Wars: Stock vs Fukuyama
• Library Research Project"

• Reproductive Ectogenesis— Stellan Welin
• The potential of regenerative medicine—Alan Russell (TED Talk)
• It's time to question bio-engineering—Paul Root Wolpe (TED Talk)
• Mind Over Mechanics thought-controlled robot, Dr. Bin He (U. of MN)
Supplementary materials:
• Printing a human kidney—Anthony Atala (TED Talk)
• The next species of human—Juan Enriquez (TED Talk)
• To upgrade is human—Gregory Stock (TED Talk)
• Will our kids be a different species?—Juan Enriquez (TED Talk)

• Do Machines Make History?—Robert L. Heilbroner (JW: ch 7)
• Can Technology Replace Social Engineering?—Alvin M. Weinberg
• Genetic Algorithm program
  Other materials:
  • Karl Sims video
    
  • BoxCar 2D
    
  • Self-Aware Robots: Short TED Talk

• The Social Construction of Facts and Artifacts—Trevor J. Pinch and Wiebe Bijker (JW: ch 8)
• "They Say, I Say"— Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
  

• Do Artifacts Have Politics?— Langdon Winner

• "White"—Richard Dyer
• "Control: Human and Nonhuman Robots"—George Ritzer (JW: ch 14)
• "They Say, I Say"— Chapters 4, 5, and 6.
  

• "Amish Technology: Reinforcing Values and Building Community"—Jameson M. Wetmore
• "Shaping Technology for the `Good Life' "—Gary Chapman
• "They Say, I Say"— Chapters 4, 5, and 6.

• The security Mirage — Bruce Schneier (TED Talk)
• How the NSA betrayed the world's trust - time to act— Mikko Hypponen (TED Talk)
• "They Say, I Say"— Chapters 7 and 8.

• "Privacy in Time of American War"— Gesse Stark-Smith, Craig Blaha, and William Aspray

• What will a future without secrets look like? — Alessandro Acquisti (TED Talk)
• All your devices can be hacked — Avi Rubin (TED Talk)
• How to fool a GPS— Todd Humphreys (TED Talk)
• "Opting Out"— Julia Angwin (Dragnet Nation)

• A Senseless Conversation— Zach Barnett
• How technology will transform us— Ray Kurzweil (TED Talk)

• Blade Runner (the Director's cut)
• Robots with "soul"— Guy Hoffman (TED Talk)
• Connected, but alone?— Sherry Turkle (TED Talk)
• Get ready for hybrid thinking — Ray Kurzweil (TED Talk)

Writing Assignments

Upcoming Events

Monday, September 15     Jane Goodall: Bucknell Forum Series

Monday, September 29     Common Time at Lewisburg Community Garden

Friday, October 3      Symposium/Final Project Proposal due (see Writing Assignment 7)

Monday, October 6     Common Time at Craft Center (meet at Craft Center, next to 7th St Cafe)
Friday, October 10     Craft Project Proposal due

Saturday, October 18     Field Trip to Pittsburgh

Monday, November 17     Symposium Abstract due

Friday, November 21     Craft Project due

Saturday, December 6     Residential Colleges Symposium

Friday, December 12     Final Projects Due

Other Interesting Material