Curriculum
Modernity: Liberty versus Subjection - Rousseau, Fromm, Marcuse, Berlin, Bauman
Dr. Ilana Arbel
The course will focus on the critique of modern Western society by the thinkers listed in the title, starting from the 18th century. The classroom discussion, which will be conducted as a guided reading, will focus on various meanings of the concepts: justice, liberty, alienation, and control, as proposed by these thinkers.
During the course, we will read excerpts from the following texts: J. J. Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men and The Social Contract; Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom; Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man; Isaiah Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty; and Zygmunt Bauman, Globalization: The Human Consequences.
During the course, we will read excerpts from the following texts: J. J. Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men and The Social Contract; Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom; Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man; Isaiah Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty; and Zygmunt Bauman, Globalization: The Human Consequences.
The Sociology of the Internet
Dr. Ofer Nordheimer Nur
The course surveys the cultural origins, social conditions and various discourses that have shaped and generated what is termed cyber culture (how life online changes us as individuals and as groups). At the core, we examine what cybernetic space does to human interaction, to knowledge and knowing and to society and politics. We examine the ambivalence towards technology as shaping society and culture. We begin with an introduction to the science and discourse of cybernetics as it developed since the late 1940s. We examine the ambivalence towards technology and the various cyber discourses from the point of view of those who justified its redeeming and even utopian qualities and follow closely the historical development of the internet as a culture and as a product of the Information Society. Temporary configurations of techno-social participation and concepts such as public participation, participatory inequality, civic technoscience, feminist data science, community science, and data ideologies.
Mind, Cognition, and Technology in the 21 Century
Dr. Oren Bader
The course examines the impact of the current digital revolution on human consciousness and cognition. Ample evidence indicates that the innovative technologies of the 21st century alter human attention, memory, and brain functions, and profoundly influence how we act, remember, and acquire information on everyday environments. Another important aspect of the use of new technologies, highlighted by current debates in the philosophy of mind, is that they often shape how people are conscious of their world. We will take a close look at the intriguing relationship between humans and new technologies and ask ourselves how the human-technology interface impacts consciousness and cognition at the beginning of the 21st century and whether the changes we see in our time are unique.
