CURRICULUM ISSUES IN CULTURAL AND NEW MEDIA STUDIES

This course explores convergences, intensifications and transformations of culture, nature and technology.
Cultural and new media studies developed in anticipation of, and response to, ways in which culture, nature
and technology converge to intensify and transform everyday life.      In addition to understanding culture,
media and the process of meaning-making, cultural and new media studies also focus on making and
managing media across formats, creative expression, and civic engagement.        Drawing on various methods
and theories, this course provides a forum for exploring cybercultural and technocultural issues such as
cyborgs and hybridity, digital property, cyberpunk fiction, the posthuman, AI and A  I, information warfare,
E virtual reality, third nature, and religion. The course is organized around nine modules that correspond to
the chapters and themes in the text, Culture and Technology.

Texts (Required):
1.  Murphie, A. and Potts, J. (2003). Culture and technology. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Valued Ends of the Course:
Our intention is to help you develop a framework for understanding the convergences, intensifications and
transformations of culture, nature and technology.    The overall goal is to provide a forum for “exploring”
and “doing” cultural and new media studies.     One major effort will be in helping you explore the
interrelationships among culture, nature and technology.     A second effort is to help you develop a critical
interdisciplinary literacy to grapple with controversial issues pertaining to culture, nature and technology.
A third effort encourages you to explore provocative challenges to ontology and epistemology as well as
class, disability, gender, race and sexuality, offered by new media technologies.