PECO 260 Political Economy of Technology
This course introduces students to the role of technology in political and economic development. Technology is essential to human existence, mediating our relationships to nature and each other. In fact, technology is so fundamental that it at the core of our darkest dystopian visions (Huxley's Brave New World) and utopian futures (Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near). Yet, we seldom stop to consider the social power relations embedded in our technologies and technological systems. This course introduces an array of conceptual tools and theoretical frameworks for understanding the political economy of technology. We will apply these frameworks to a number of critical contemporary issues, such as: work and leisure, food and the environment, the logistics revolution, modern warfare, surveillance and cyber-security, and social media and democratic organizing.