| SES # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory Themes | ||
| 1 | Introduction | |
| 2 |
Theories of Technology and Culture FilmExcerpt from The Matrix. Directed by the Wachowski Brothers. Color, 136 min. 1999. | |
| Theme 1: Identity | ||
| 3 |
Labor-Saving Technology and the Worth of Workers FilmExcerpt from Modern Times. Directed by Charlie Chaplin. Black and White, 87 min. 1936. | |
| 4 |
Technologies of Reproduction and Family FilmExcerpt from Made in India. Directed by Rebecca Haimowitz and Vaishali Sinha. Color, 95 min. 2010. | |
| 5 |
Medical Experimentation, Race, and Globalization FilmsThe Deadly Deception. NOVA. Directed by Denisce DiAnni. Color, 56 min. 1993. Excerpt from The Constant Gardener. Directed by Fernando Meirelles. Color, 129 min. 1995. | |
| 6 | Food: If We Are What We Eat, What Are We? | |
| 7 |
Wearables and Self-Tracking Guest lecturer: Natasha Dow Schüll, Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society, MIT | Identity paper due |
| Theme 2: Infrastructure | ||
| 8 |
Automobility Guest lecturer: Renée Blackburn, graduate student, doctoral program in History, Anthropology, Science, and Society, MIT FilmsExcerpts from: Thelma & Louise. Directed by Ridley Scott. Color, 130 min. 1991. Speed. Directed by Jan de Bont. Color, 116 min. 1994. Minority Report. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Color, 145 min. 2002. | |
| 9 |
Electricity and Markets Guest lecturer: Canay Özden-Schilling, teaching assistant and graduate student, doctoral program in History, Anthropology, Science, and Society, MIT | |
| 10 |
Ocean Infrastructures FilmExcerpt from Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude. NOVA. Directed by Peter Jones. Color, 57 min. 1998. | |
| 11 |
Computers, Networked, Then and Now FilmsExcerpts from: War Games. Directed by John Badham. Color, 114 min. 1983. Tron. Directed by Steven Lisberger. Color, 96 min. 1982. Terra Blight. Directed by Isaac Brown. Color, 55 min. 2012. | |
| 12 |
Disorienting Infrastructures: Underground and Outer Space FilmsExcerpts from: Moebius. Directed by Gustavo Mosquera. Color, 88 min. 1996. Gravity. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Color, 91 min. 2013. | |
| 13 |
Technological Disasters FilmsExcerpts from: Half Life. Directed by Dennis O’Rourke. Color, 87 min. 1986. Containment: Life After Three Mile Island. Directed by Chris Boebel and Nick Poppy. Color, 60 min. 2004. | |
| 14 | Class Presentations | Infrastructure and Social Forms paper due |