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Fall 2011
University of California, Berkeley
Interdisciplinary Studies
ISF 100D: Introduction to Technology, Society, and
Culture
Professor Renate Holub
Assistant:
Leah Marcus
M,W 10:00-12:00
180 Tan
Course control: 45018
Office Hours: M 1-2:30 and W 1-2:30
sign-up sheet and by appointment
269 Evans
Course Description:
This is an interdisciplinary course that welcomes students of all disciplinary backgrounds. In
it, we will focus on three major technological paradigms which have emerged over the past
150 years in the transatlantic worlds. We will also focus on a fourth paradigm, the emergence of which pertains to all global regions, to Asia, Africa, and Latin America as well as
Europe and North America. In September, October, and parts of November, we will study
essential features of the industrial revolution, the transportation and communication revolution, and the information-technological revolution. We will then probe the possibility of
new technological paradigms as they may be envisaged over the next 40 years while taking
into account major global challenges: food security and global responsibilities in an
interdependent world. In part I of the course we will examine the interrelations between
technology, industrialization, urbanization, and the emergence of the culture industries and
raise questions about the necessary conditions for the emergence of particular kinds of
technologies. In part II we will focus on the impact of a variety of technologies [automobility, telephony, aviation, communications technologies, TV, media, satellites] on the
structure of social and cultural organization in the global north (Europe and North America).
In part III we will examine the evolution and structure of the internet and its impact on
cultures and societies in a variety of global regions. Here we are not only interested in the
integration of communication technologies in the organization of the ‘new economy’ [globalization] or in the emergence of diverse types of capitalism in Asia and Latin America. We
are also interested in linking technological facts to the democratic expansion of knowledge
opportunities, economic opportunities, and rights opportunities for citizens around the
world. These technological facts pertain to the open structure of both the internet, and
some operating systems [LINUX], an openness which lends itself to a broadening and
deepening of the educational and creative capacities of its users. In the last part of the
course, we will address issues pertaining to a heightened consciousness of interconnectedness and interdependencies between all global regions due to the social advantages and disadvantages ushered in by technologies innovations. In this context we will
look at new ‘global civics’ and at ‘climate justice’ and ‘food security.’ The purpose of the
course is to provide students not only with a substantive understanding of the technological
forces which have shaped “modernity,” “postmodernity,” “globalization”, and ‘capitalist
diversity,’ but also to raise theoretical questions about the relations which obtain between
producers and users [active and passive] of technology under conditions of both the
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industrial age and the information age. Central is the question of democracy: to which
extent have particular kinds of technologies contributed or not to processes of democratization in the cultural, political, social, and geopolitical spheres? Our discussions will be
guided by important theoretical texts, including texts by Hakan Altinay, Edward Bernays,
Manuel Castells, Antonio Gramsci, David Harvey, Renate Holub, Max Horkheimer, Karl Marx,
Vandana Shiva, Max Weber. The educational goal of the course is to equip students with an
interdisciplinary perspective, in the context of which they can examine ‘questions of
technology´from a variety of points of view depending on their theoretical preferences:
cultural, social, political, economic, geopolitical, etc.
Satisfies the International Studies or Social and Behavioral Studies Breadth
Requirement
Requirements: Class attendance (30), One Short Paper (10%) One Midterm Exam (30%)
and One Final Exam (30%). The Midterm Exam will consist of 20 questions [study questions
will be posted on b-space on a weekly basis] to be answered with 4-6 short sentences, and
5 paragraphs from the required readings to be identified with brief comments. The Final
Exam will consist of essay questions. Study Questions for Final Essays will be handed out
after Midterm Exam on a weekly basis.
Extra Credit:
1.Students will form study groups and discuss the b-space study questions under a study
group facilitator on a weekly basis. Study group facilitators will get extra credit. Please
notify us if you would like to serve as group facilitator.
2.Students are encouraged to observe current events of relevance to our subject matter on
technology, society, culture. Depending on linguistic skills, please read News from China
Daily, Times of India, Capetown Newspaper, South Africa, Brazil, Jornada of Mexico, El Pais,
Spain, La Repubblica, Italy, Guardian, UK, Spiegel, Germany, Le monde, France¸NYT, USA
etc.
3.In addition, students who regularly attend class and who received a “B” or better on
the Midterm Exam will have the opportunity to pursue their own original research project
for extra credit. The Project should focus on contemporary or future information
technologies propitious for the expansion of global democracy in sustainable economic and
social environments.
Maximum extra credit points: 12: 100
Research Projects Proposals [3 pp] to be handed in on Monday, November 7,
2011. Proposal consists of 1) research question, 2) methodological and/or theoretical
approach, 3) significance of the project, expected findings 4) bibliography [1 page]
1. Some students bring their laptops to class. If you do so, please do not inconvenience
and/or disturb students surrounding you.
2. Unfortunately, given the size of the class, there will be no extensions and
incompletes. If you do not take the exams, you will receive an “F”.
3. Student Athletes are required to hand in schedule of absences as approved by
University Athletics Policy by the end of second week of classes.
4. While we receive official notification about disability accommodations, we would
appreciate nonetheless if you let us know your status at your earliest convenience.
Required Books:
1.
Marx, Karl [1848], The Communist Manifesto [on line]
2.
Weber, Max [1904] The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
3.
Harvey, David [1989] The Condition of Postmodernity
4.
Bernays, Edward [1928] Propaganda
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5. Castells, Manuel [2003, first edn 2001] Internet Galaxy
6. Shiva, Vandana [2010, first edn 1988] Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and
Development
7. Altinay, Hakan [2011] Global Civics
All available on reserve in Moffit
Recommended Sources:
Abbate, Janet (2000) Inventing the Internet
Atton, Chris (2004) An Alternative Internet. Radical Media, Politics and Creativity
Borgmann, Christine (2000) From Gutenberg to the Global Information Infrastructure
Campbell Kelly, Martin and William Aspray (1996) Computer: A History
Castells, Manuel (1997) The Rise of the Network Society
Castells, Manuel [2007) Mobile Communication and Society, A Global Perspective
Castells, Manuel Communication Power
Chester, Jeff (2007) Digital Destiny. New Media and the Future of Democracy
De Angelis, Massimo (2007) The Beginning of History. Value Struggles and Global Capital.
El-Nawawy, Mohammed and Adel Iskandar, (2003) Al-Jazeera
Fischer, Claude (1992) America Calling
Flink, James The Automobile Age
Held, David and Anthony McGrew [2007]Globalization/Anti-Globalization. Beyond the Great
Divide.
Himanen, Pekka (2001) The Hacker Ethic
Jacques, Martin. [2009] When China Rules the World. The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and
the End of the Western World.
Lecher, Frank J and John Boli, Eds (2000) The Globalization Reader
McLuhan,Marshall (1963) The Gutenberg Galaxy
Mestrovic, Stjepan (1997) Postemotional Society
Polanyi, Karl (1944) The Great Transformation
Sassen, Saskia [2007] A Sociology of Globalization
Required Films:
1.
The Phantom of the Operator; 2. Good Night and Good Luck; 3. Merchants of Cool
Recommended Films
Optimum
Explores the legacy of three 19th century visionaries interested in making humans more efficient and productive.
Jeremy Bentham, espoused the philosophy of utilitarianism; Charles Babbage, created the design for the analytical
engine, a precursor to the modern computer; Francis Galton devoted his life to the study of genetics to identify and
eliminate "undesirable" tendencies, the idea behind the eugenics movement. 53 min. VIDEO/C 8878
Clockwork
Traces the history of manufacturing in American from special individual workshops, through assembly line to full
automation. Discusses the ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor in his search for increased productivity. c1981. 25
min. Video/C 1470
Diverted to Delhi
The toll-free telephone numbers used to place orders are often answered thousands of miles away by Indians
trained to speak and think like Americans, or Brits or Australians. This film follows a group of university graduates
through a rigorous 3-week course which they hope will prepare them for prestigious, well paying positions in these
call centers. Over 200 of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies now choose to service their clients via Indian call centers
where labor and set-up costs are low and the staff highly educated. c2002. 55 min DVD X1893
The Industrial Revolution: Working Lives: Concentrates on the crucial century of radical change in
Great Britain between 1750 and 1850, when large numbers of people began to work for the first time in factories
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rather than on the land, and when agriculture had to adapt to provide for an expanding population. 1992. 20 min.
Video/C 8729
The Factory and Marketplace Revolution. (Day the Universe Changed; 6)
Describes the origins of the Industrial Revolution and the resulting growth of urbanization, the creation of the
factory system and an industrial working class, and the exploitation of the planet. 1986. 52 min. Video/C 997:6
Pt. 6
The Economics of Happiness
A documentary about economic localization, a powerful strategy that can help heal a world in crisis. Featuring
voices from six continents calling for systemic economic change, the documentary describes a world moving
simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote
globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, all around the world people are resisting
those policies, demanding a re-regulation of trade and finance - and, far from the old institutions of power, they're
starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human-scale,
ecological economies based on a new paradigm -- an economics of localization. Directed by Helena Norberg-Hodge,
Steven Gorelick & John Page. 2011. 65 min. DVD X5394
Syllabus
[Fall 2011]
Part I: Industrial Revolutions, Transatlantic Capitalisms, Socio-Cultural
Transformations
Week I
Studying:
Aug 29
Aug 31
Reading : Karl Marx The Communist Manifesto, Part I and II
[on the web]
b-space: 20 Study Questions for Week I
Lecture 1: Introduction
Questions of Technology, Society, and Culture
Lecture 2: 1848 and Two Industrial Revolutions?
Week II
Reading 1. David Harvey Chapter 5 ‘modernization’
2. Max Weber, Author’s Introduction to the Protestant Ethic
pp. 13-31
b-space: 20 Study Questions for Week II
Sept 7
Lecture 3: ‘modernity, modernism and modernization’
Week III
Reading: Max Weber, pp. 35-92
b-space: 20 Study Questions for Week III
Sep 12
Sept 14
Lecture 4:
Lecture 5:
Week IV
Reading: 1. David Harvey, chapter 2, modernity and modernism
2. Max Weber, pp. 95-183
b-space: 20 Study Questions for Week IV
Sept 19
Sept 21
Insurance, Typewriter, and Women
The Phantom of the Operator
Lecture 6: The Geopolitics of Modernity: 1910
Lecture 7: Marx and Weber on Technology
Part II: Between Democracy and the Productions of Commodifications
Week V
Reading: 1. Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological
Reproducibility – on b-space
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2. Renate Holub, On Gramsci, Benjamin, Polanyi: Towards a Global
Space of Democratic Rights – on b-space
3. Antonio Gramsci, on Americanism and Fordism, on b-space
4. David Harvey, chapter 8, fordism
Studying b-space: 20 Study Questions for Week V
Sept 26
Sept 28
Lecture 8: Taylorism, Fordism, Sloanism
Lecture 9: Mass Intellectuality, Photography, Film
Due Date, Sept 28,
Short Essay 3-4 pp double spaced, in class. We will not accept electronic
submissions. Essay Question: Discuss the role of technology in the social
management of women as portrayed in The Phantom of the Operator. To which
extent do new technologies participate, inadvertently or not, in the democratic
expansion of the liberation of creative possibilities of citizens?
Week VI
Reading: 1. Chomsky’s Introduction to Bernays Propaganda [1926]
on google
2. Reading: Edward Bernays, Propaganda
Viewing: When propaganda became public relations – on google
b-space: 20 Study Questions for Week VI
Oct 3
Oct 5
Lecture 10: Social Questions of Management: Telephony, Radio, Film
Lecture 11: Automobility 1930
Week VII
Reading: 1. The Frankfurt School Critical Theory, on google
2. Adorno – Google, The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass
Culture
3. Essay by Claude Fischer, in Technology and Culture, Volume 50,
Number 3, July 2009
4. Rethinking Science, Technology, and Social Change (review) [Find
this essay on-line in our library]
Viewing: ‘Merchants of Cool’ and ‘Good Night and Good Luck’
b-space: 20 Study Questions for Week VII
Oct 10
Week VIII
Lecture 12: Questions of Culture 1945: TV, Advertising,
Consumerism, and Democracy
Lecture 13: 1973: The Revolt of the Commodity and
the Revolt of the Colony
Reading:
No Reading
October 17
October 19
Review
Midterm Exam
Oct 12
Part III: Globalization, Informational Capitalism, the Network Society, and
Diversifications of Modernity
Week IX
Reading: Harvey: chapters 8, 9, 10
Oct 24
Lecture 14: Transitions: From the Industrial Age to the Information
Age
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Oct 26
Lecture 15: 1989: The Contraction of Space and Time
Week X
Reading Harvey: Chapters 11 and 17
Oct 31
Nov 2
Lecture 16: Cultural Questions:
Beyond the ‘modern’ and the ‘postmodern’
Lecture 17: Global Questions
Week XI
Reading: Castells Chapters 1, 2, 8
Nov 7
Nov 9
Lecture 18: The Internet: Between 1995-2011
Lecture 19: Cultures of the Internet
Week XII
Reading: Castells, Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6
Nov 14
Nov 16
Lecture 20: Information Technology and Speculative Capitalism
Lecture 21: New Developmental States, New Capitalisms?
Part IV Imagining the Global Future: 2050
Week XIII
Reading: 1. Renate Holub, “Critical Intellectuals under Conditions of
Informational Capitalism” on b-space
2. Hakan Altinay, Chap 1, 2, 4
Nov 21
Nov 23
,
Week XIV
Lecture 22: Interdependencies, Multipolarities, and Solidarities
Lecture 23: ‘Springs’ of 2011 and Technologies
Nov 28
Nov 30
Lecture 24: Climate Justice, Sustainability, Food Security
Lecture 25: Conclusion: From G7 to ?
Reading: Vandana Shiva, Staying Alive
Viewing: Manfred Max-Neefs, Author of Barefoot Economics,
On google
10 Essay Questions for Final Essay will be posted on b-space on Nov 7, 2011. You
can begin to discuss them in your study groups. We will select 3 essay questions
by Nov 28, and you can choose 1 question, and you will write an essay of 12 ++pp,
double spaced and typed. The sources you will use for the essay are based on the
course readings, lectures, and videos. Your analytical instruments should reflect
your capacity to examine a problem from an interdisciplinary perspective, taking
into account economic, political, cultural, technological, ecological, geopolitical,
and social perspectives . Due December 12, 2011 at 10:00 am in Class Room. No
electronic submissions will be accepted.