Technological Innovations (341-0-20)

Topic

History of Digital Media & Technology

Instructors

Nathaniel Andrew Rossi

Meeting Info

University Hall 218: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

This course will provide students with the historical contexts for the study of contemporary issues regarding digital media and technological innovations. In particular, we will have three main areas of focus: the emergence and development of data and surveillance cultures, algorithms, and digital aesthetics. Specific attention will be paid to the intersections between these three areas, as well as the role of race, gender, sexuality, citizenship, and ability in relation to the production and advancement of digital media and technologies. We will answer questions such as, how did data come to rule the world? What forces prompted the emergence of algorithmic culture? how has the relationship between technological advancement and "ways of seeing" led to the dominance of Instagram aesthetics? How have the demarcations between data, algorithms, digital services, and the everyday become blurred? And how has the evolution of technology contributed to the domestication of data surveillance and the need to be "online"?

Class Materials (Required)

none, readings available on Canvas