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Campus | Bryn Mawr |
Semester | Fall 2020 |
Registration ID | CSTSB203001 |
Course Title | Technology and Humanity |
Credit | 1.00 |
Department | Classical Studies |
Instructor | Devereaux,Jennifer |
Times and Days | TF 01:10pm-02:30pm
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Room Location | |
Additional Course Info | Class Number: 2482 In this course, we will study the development, impact, and ethical implications of technology in the ancient world. While investigating the attitudes toward technology expressed by scientific and non-scientific authors of the Graeco-Roman world, students will be exposed to perspectives and methods from a variety of disciplines including literary studies, anthropology, social psychology, and 4E cognition, engaging with questions related to areas of social justice, human ecology, artificial intelligence, urban planning, environmental management, and medicine. Through readings by authors such as Aristophanes, Euripides, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, Apuleius and Galen, we will discuss the technologies used to aid memory, carry out calculative activities, perform labor, influence human behavior, and improve quality of life. In addition to gaining a broad understanding of ancient technologies (real and imagined), students will a) become familiar with the major periods and events of Graeco-Roman history and be able to contextualize attitudes towards technology within those periods; b) become familiar with the styles of literature and material arts during major periods of Graeco-Roman history, and c) develop skills necessary for reading primary texts (literary, philosophical, and historical) as documents representing the intellectual history of classical antiquity. No previous knowledge of the ancient world is required.; Open to students with no previous knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean, this course explores the relationship between technology and social (in)equality in the ancient world, while also introducing students to some of the most entertaining literature of ancient Greece and Rome. You will especially learn about technologies that were developed in the Near East and how those technologies interacted and evolved within Graeco-Roman culture. You will also reflect, through assigned readings, on the adaptability and use of similar technologies in our own time. In addition to reading Adrienne Mayor's 'Gods and Robots', students will engage with contemporary readings on topics such as: - The ethical and social implications of robotics - Video game ethics - The building of inclusive digital communities - Bias and the use of Big Data - Urban regeneration STEM students are especially encouraged to enroll. Due to the diversity of ancient material, the course also has special value to humanities majors, especially those with an interest in the evolution of technology and/or its role in structuring societies. Approach: Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC); Haverford: Humanities (HU) ( ) Enrollment Cap: 40; This course will be taught in-person if conditions permit, but students may also take the class remotely. Instruction will generally involve synchronous meetings during the allotted course time, with some asynchronous instruction as needed. |
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