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Course in English | FK13 | Munich University of Applied Sciences
SUBJECT
SUBJECT
The dreams and projects of the so called Information Society are founded in a utopic vision, essentially linked to the European Modernity and particularly rooted by Bacon, Leibniz and other prominent philosophers. Some of the foundational utopic projects can even be traced back to middle ages, as we can see in the works of Aquinas, Lull or Kues, but even further away to the sources of political philosophy in antiquity. In particular, Plato sowed the seeds of the utopic tradition whose latest leaves are the cyberutopias. However, despite all the used efforts and progress-oriented designs, dystopias are displayed again and again, reflecting the dark, hidden and usually unnoticed side of the targeted hope, which in the current world generally gains the upper hand.
OBJECTIVES & SKILLS
OBJECTIVES & SKILLS
The lectures are intended to provide a critical perspective of the information society in order to understand its related historical development, pursued goals and problems arisen by its deployment. The inquiry will provide an outlook to the historical development of political philosophy. Through colloquial discussions, students’ ability to defend critically their own viewpoints will be promoted.
Additionally, by means of an interdisciplinary attitude (integrating aspects of scientific, technical and social concern) the student shall gain an interdisciplinary ability to integrate different focus of social relevance to practical problems.
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
1. What is utopia? Utopia, dystopia, metopia and other utopian categories
2. The historical landscape of utopias
3. The project of modernity actualizing older utopias
4. The project of the information society actualizing modern utopias
5. The information society vs the industrial society. What is actually new?
6. Do we need a new ethic stand at the age of information?
7. Overview of utopic perspectives throughout history
8. Study cases: Utopic and dystopic aspects of security
9. The perfect language
10. The perfect thinking
11. The perfect wisdom
12. The perfect social order
13. The transparent society
14. The trustworthy society
METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
Several online information and communication resources will serve the lecturer, Prof. Díaz Nafría, to provide hints, calls and materials concerning the seminar.
In the beginning, the lecturer will open discussions concerning central topics. Subsequently, he will provide preliminary guidance on the historic utopias (categorised in several families) preceding and characterising the information age, as well as some related dystopias that several authors have elaborated in the literature and movies.
Within the first sessions, the participant must select a topic to elaborate on a paper belonging to a wide offer in the interdisciplinary field introduced by the lecturer. In the second phase of the seminar, participants may open and moderate discussions (starters) on their selected topics using a colloquial style with the possibility of employing different media. The rest of the participants will engage in the discussion.
To facilitate the interplay between onsite and online participation as well as for evaluation purposes, this website and the HM-moodle space for the current course edition will be used together with the resources articulated through both sites.
When the course is being held on-site, the second phase usually takes place in the second week. If this is the case, the discussion will be open before the paper has been elaborated. This will offer the "starter" the opportunity to focus better on the paper that will be elaborated on in a third phase. After all seminar papers have been handed over, an online session will serve to close the seminar by making short comments on everyone's paper and general remarks.
LITERATURE
LITERATURE
As soon as the student has chosen a topic (deadline May 31th) to be developed it has to be communicated to Prof. Díaz Nafría, providing: (1) a title and a very brief description of the purpose, and (2) in case of making a presentation either face-to-face or online, a date to do it (among the available dates of June, check the schedule).
MATTELART, A. (2003). The Information Society: An Introduction. Thousand Oak, CA, USA: SAGE Publications.
GRAEBER, D., & WENGROW, D. (2023). The dawn of everything: a new history of humanity. London: Penguin.
DÍAZ-NAFRÍA, J.M. (2017). Cybersubsidiarity: towards a Global Sustainable Information Society. In E.G. Carayannis et al. (eds.), Handbook of Cyber-Development, Cyber-Democracy, and Cyber-Defense.
MILLER, David (2003). Political Philosophy - A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press
CRAIG, Edward (2002). Philosophy. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
CHOMSKY, N. (1972). Problems of Knowledge and Freedom. The Russel Lectures. New York, USA: Vintage
ARCHBAR, M. & WINTONICK, p. (1993). Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media. Documentary based on Chomsky's works, particularly Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988) http://www.archive.org/details/manufacturing_consent]
FUCHS, C. (2010). Critical Theory of Information. In Díaz, Pérez-Montoro, Salto. Glossarium BITri. León, Spanien: Universidad de León. [online: http://glossarium.bitrum.unileon.es, book version available in the Documentation section]
CAPURRO, R. & DÍAZ-NAFRÍA, J.M. (2010). Information Ethics; Intercultural Information Ethics, ibidem
DÍAZ-NAFRÍA, J.M. (2014). Ethics at the age of information. Systema, 2(1), 43-51.
DYSTOPIAN NOVELS
HESSE, H. (1943, orig.). The Glass Bead Game (transl. from orig. Das Glasperlenspiel). Vintage.
BORGES, J.L. (1941). The Library of Babel, transl. by James E. Irby, in Labyrinths, 1962. Available at: http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_babel.html
ZAMYATIN, E. (1921). We. Englisch edition, E. P. Dutton (s. documentation section)
ORWELL, G. (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four. Penguin, London 2008 [BBC TV - George Orwell's 1984 (1954), in Internet Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/Meatpies_1984].
HUXLEY, A. (1932). Brave New World. [Other related resources in Internet Archive: David Gilbar. SomaBNW (short Film): http://www.archive.org/details/SomaBNW; Qi Yang. Brave New World - The Hatchery].
BRADBURY, R. (1953). Fahrenheit 451. München: Heyne-Verlag, 2000.
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