[Lesson 1] intro Tools – Technology and Social Change - SOCI PDF

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Introduction First we shape our tools, and then our tools shape us. This is a snappy version of something Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan liked to remind people of, when he was doing his ground-breaking work on mass communication technology in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Human technological innovations are not just passive "tools" that we use, but also active shapers of what it is to be human. This idea is at the core of this course. A corollary of the insight is that every technological advance brings not only the positive benefits for which it was intended, but also a range of unintended impacts, some of which we may be sorry for. I try to take a balanced view of how technology is shaping us. The opportunities are many and exhilirating; the technologies of the coming century may be liberatory for the individual and could help bring us closer together as a planet. They could also lead to greater isolation, further dehumanization, and previously unimagined forms of exploitation and oppression. Or the end of humanity altogether and the devastation of our planet. I've mentioned Marshall McLuhan, who will make a video appearance in the second lesson, but now I'd ask you to turn your attention to another Marshall:

Marshall Soulful Jones

The slam is bitter, anguished, and pessimistic. But the ending need not be seen as entirely ironic. Is there some way in which our technology can "make us human again"? That is the question we will address in this humanities course on technology. In the first half of this class we will take a closer look at the two largest waves of technological change in the modern Western world. These revolutions have had a profound effect on your own existence as a human being at the beginning of the 21st century, and they continue to shape human culture and existence, for better and for worse. These movements are commonly referred to by sociologists as The Industrial Revolution (1750-1950) and The Information Age (1900- ). These radical technological shifts have given the developed world countless goods: affordable housing, abundant reserves of diverse foodstuffs, indoor plumbing, instantaneous communication across immense distances, and - most recently - near universal access to an impressive and ever-expanding pool of amassed human knowledge (and music!). But with these advantages have come what many people think are significant losses and new evils. The breakdown of the family and a sense of local community, urbanization and a loss of connection to nature, the corporate administration of human slavery in both literal and figurative senses, the meaninglessness of industrial and post-industrial labour, the dehumanization,mechanization, and objectification of human beings, weapons of mass destruction, and Facebook tagging of pictures of you drunk at that party last Saturday. (I know you all know better than to use Facebook for that sort of thing ...)

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