Technology, Science, and Self
In this course, we will draw upon the anthropology and history of technology, as well as science and technology studies, to critically examine theories about technology, society, and self.
- Offered for:Summer
- Day:Wednesday
- Times: 6:30pm - 9:30pm CST
- Dates: Starting June 17th
Taught by:
About the Course
Theories about technology and its relationship to society and self are everywhere, even if we don’t always recognize them or articulate them. For example, technology is frequently seen as a primary driver of historical change or as a source of thorny ethical and social challenges. New technologies perennially attract both optimism and hope as well as pessimism and critique. In other cases, we might think of technology as objects or artefacts which have no inherent social, ethical, or political meaning but can be put to various uses or ends. In this course, we will draw upon the anthropology and history of technology, as well as science and technology studies, to critically examine these and other theories about technology, society, and self. During the first part of the course, we will examine a range of theories and frameworks and ask a series of conceptual questions: What assumptions are built into various theories of “technology”? What is the relationship between technology and science? Can material objects make people do things? In the second part of the course, we’ll examine a range of technologies which impinge upon, shape, or otherwise interact with “selves”: social media, data-tracking devices, teletherapy, psychopharmaceuticals, and biomedical technologies at the end of life.
This class will satisfy one of the following curriculum requirements:
- Social Science Core
- Tech and Society Elective
About the Professor
Eugene Raikhel
Eugene Raikhel is a cultural and medical anthropologist with interests encompassing the anthropology of science, biomedicine, and psychiatry; addiction and its treatment; suggestion and healing; and post-socialist transformations in Eurasia.
Eugene Raikhel is a cultural and medical anthropologist with interests encompassing the anthropology of science, biomedicine, and psychiatry; addiction and its treatment; suggestion and healing; and post-socialist transformations in Eurasia.