Final Exam

“Reading w/ the Digital Human” Course Description

One of Marx's main ideas is that of “historical materialism;" he argues that, rather than ideas, it is the technological developments of an age which change human societies and thus human beings. The spinning jenny brought the Industrial Revolution, and the computer brought what many have come to call the Digital age. The press is no longer the printing press, but the barrage of online and television news outlets—Facebook and Twitter included. The e-mail has replaced “snail mail,” and for some, the internet itself has come to dominate their personal communications so much so as to have almost replaced the “human community.” But what is the human being and what is the human community? Can there be a set of “criteria” that determine whether a human society is functional or dysfunctional? And how do the digital technologies affect the functionality of these societies? In this class, we will explore these questions using texts from the fields of literature, sociology, philosophy, critical theory, and even the blogosphere. One such text is McLuhan's The Medium is the Massage, a book which is itself multi-media in its format, and which deals with pressing questions of the human and the environment, and how the new media come to define the new “global community” that we find ourselves living in right now. It claims that we live in a more participative society; is this still true, or has the internet made us more passive?

We will also challenge, then, what constitutes “reading,” and the importance of reading, and thinking, and most of all, thinking critically, within ever-changing social contexts so that we may achieve a better awareness of our world and a better way to live (actively) in it.

Book: “Pluto” by Urusawa/Tezuka

Synopsis:

Mainly because of Hollywood, we often equate robots with apocalyptic settings. But what about the notion of a robot designed to be completely selfless? In Pluto, we see a modern-day incarnation of Tezuka's “Atom,” the selfless robot. Set in a highly developed world, Pluto commences when a serial killer begins to murder the “greatest robots of the earth,” often beloved robots responsible for much of society's progress.

Some questions for discussion:

The story provides ground to discuss some questions about “humanity” and the “human community.”

1. As robots became more advanced, they were allowed more into human society (ie, the “robot bill of rights”). As a result, there has been a backlash of (racist?) humans who form groups like the anti-robot KKK, etc. How plausible do you think this scenario is? Which side would you take?

2. We see robots “acting like” humans (as Atom does when he pretends to eat ice cream) without experiencing any of the “actual” human feelings. What does this say to the concept of “human” as a social construction?

3. Robots often exchange their “memory chips,” literally containing all their lives' memories. Where is the robot's soul? And where is the human soul?