In Search of the Electric Monk
In Search of the Electric Monk Throughout civilization, we have seen machines free humans from arduous tasks we would rather not—or cannot—perform ourselves, from manual labor such as harvesting crops or walking long distances, to factory and construction work and performing intricate computations. More recently, digital technology and simulated intelligence have been increasingly used to free humans from the tiresome acts of physical interaction, creative production, and even learning, as society becomes ever more ready for Douglas Adams' Electric Monk. In this seminar we will explore the side effects of technological progress on the human condition, considering written works and films ranging from nonfiction and science to fiction and science fiction.
In Search of the Electric Monk Throughout civilization, we have seen machines free humans from arduous tasks we would rather not—or cannot—perform ourselves, from manual labor such as harvesting crops or walking long distances, to factory and construction work and performing intricate computations. More recently, digital technology and simulated intelligence have been increasingly used to free humans from the tiresome acts of physical interaction, creative production, and even learning, as society becomes ever more ready for Douglas Adams' Electric Monk. In this seminar we will explore the sid …Read more
This class was an interesting, crash course-esque survey on anthropology, technology, and philosophy all together, though I do wish at times that we could diversify and deepen our discussions on modern existential questions by reading from more authors than one, and having more guided, pointed discussions. (Granted, this is a seminar, so we are not really meant to reach a consensus on something more than to get to thinking about it in a more liberal-artsy fashion.) The course was definitely helpful in the sense of also being "Research 101", through papers in which we explored our own myths, topics, and constructs etc. of interest. Our weekly screenings were also always chill ways to end the night, which surprisingly came in to inform some of my writing for this class, among other classes! As we moved along the semester, Professor Swenton took the effort to honor his students' thoughts and opinions about the class, and about settling into college in general. I will never forget the day he went out of his way to get us all vitamin D supplements during our first Middlebury winter.
This class was an interesting, crash course-esque survey on anthropology, technology, and philosophy all together, though I do wish at times that we could diversify and deepen our discussions on modern existential questions by reading from more authors than one, and having more guided, pointed discussions. (Granted, this is a seminar …Read more
The class was pretty good and pretty fast paced. A lot of discussion but the information you learned was super interesting. Overall it was decent but a lot of work for a first year seminar! If you are into reading then good