Philosophy of Technology: CMNS 857
This course will introduce philosophy of technology through literature, major texts in the Continental tradition, and recent approaches to technology studies in the social sciences.  We will begin with Aldous Huxley’s famous novel Brave New World which lays out in narrative form the dystopian terms of 20th Century technology critique. The domination of man by machine is the theme. A dystopian logic of technology underlies the philosophical work of Heidegger and his student Marcuse. Marcuse’s theory, however, opens up the possibility of a radical transformation of technology. With Habermas we have a very different attempt to come to terms with the existing technology by limiting its reach. The contributions of recent science and technology studies are represented here by articles by Pinch and Bijker and Latour, and a collection of case studies by Collins and Pinch. The constructivist approach is non-determinist and focuses on empirical study of cases. We will then read my recent book which draws on all these sources to present an approach I call “critical constructivism.” We will conclude with the contents of a special section of the Information Society Journal in which several authors apply critical constructivism to the study of information technology. [Full Syllabus]

Seminar in Frankfurt School Critical Theory
This course introduces Frankfurt School Critical Theory through the writings of Benjamin, Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, and Habermas. The course also includes background readings in Marx and Lukács. The course presupposes some knowledge of Marx’s work and the philosophical tradition. If you do not know Marx, at the very least read Marx and Engels' Communist Manifesto carefully to get an idea what you’ve been missing. A minimal acquaintance with modern philosophy (Descartes to Kant) will be very helpful. I will lecture on the philosophical background and the more difficult texts. [Full Syllabus]

Philosophy of Technology 333
Industrial society is an experiment with a brief past and an uncertain future. Other forms of human society--tribal and feudal societies--have proven their ability to survive over thousands of years. Our society is the first to base itself on artificial sources of power and mechanical means of production. In less than two centuries, this new form of society has transformed the globe and made the human race capable of realizing its highest ideals but also powerful enough to destroy itself. [Full Syllabus]