Exploring the Disembodied, Part Three

Reading:

Donna Harraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto"
(After skimming the beginning of the article, begin reading in earnest at the section marked Fractured Identities.)

Question:

Born in Flames is a sci-fi look at a fictional future wherein a socialist revolution has taken over the country and all people are supposedly "equal." How does the film represent technology and the media? Are they tools for empowerment or repression, or both? Does the film represent technology as "gendered?" Did you see any connections between the film and Sobol's discussion of oral culture and literate values? How do you feel the film resonates with issues of identity and technology that Donna Harraway discusses in her article, specifically with regard to her conception of the cyborg?

A reminder about our schedule over the next couple of weeks:

Thursday, November 22nd - Eat turkey

Thursday, November 29th - In class we will discuss afro-futurism, the intersections of technology and race and gender, and Born in Flames. Open Korsakow workshops - Computer labs will be open for you to work on your projects independently with guidance from the TAs.

Thursday, December 6th - Presentations of completed Korsakow projects. Projects due to your TA by the end of class.

Exploring the Disembodied, Part Two & Re-mix Culture: The Case of Hip-Hop

Reading:

Mark Dery, "Black to the Future"

John Sobol, "Digitopia Blues": Hip-Hop's Four Oral Elements & Flippin' The Script

(follow the same rules re: ID and password as last week)

1) After reading Dery's Black to the Future," describe (in your own words) the concept of afro-futurism and how it might figure into our discussions of technology and disembodiment.
2) One of the major underlying themes of John Sobol's essays is the fundamental distinction between literate culture and oral culture. What do you see as the primary difference between these two cultures and how can this contribute to our understanding of hip-hop music as a form of re-mix?

Exploring the Disembodied, Part One

Readings:

Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore, The Medium is the Massage

Philip K. Dick, “The Minority Report”

Update: If you are asked for a ID and password when you attempt to access the readings, try one of the following combinations:
ID: your ID number
Password: The first four letters of your last name
OR
ID: eres
Password: fall

Questions:

1. The selection from The Medium is the Massage discusses several ways in which electronic media cause traditional social boundaries to collapse. What strikes you most about the reading and why?
2. "The Minority Report," examines a number of ethical problems posed by a legal system founded upon the ability to arrest "innocent" people. For example, the story illustrates the fact that there is no meaningful way for a citizen to dispute charges when there is no physical evidence of a crime. What anxieties does this story express about the role of the individual in a society increasingly governed by technology?