April 23, 2008

Lecture: How can we control technology? (redux)

Key concepts: utopian, dystopian, technological utopianism/dystopianism (cont'd from last class), technological prefixes/epithets and institutional transformations
Examples: Clinton/Gore speeches about the Internet, Office Space, The Apple Macintosh "1984" Ad, Civilization IV

Textbook: 1984 -- part two, sections 5-10

Read the PART TWO, SECTIONS 5-10 of Orwell, George. 1984.

Assignment: BLOG POST: 1984 and 2008

Communication technology (such as the "telescreen" and "speakwrite") plays an important role in George Orwell's novel 1984. This is particularly true if we consider the invented language "newspeak" as a technology.

In 1949, shortly after the novel was first released, the New York Times reviewed George Orwell's novel 1984 and noted that the book was a "great work" but that "its greatness is only immediate, its power for us alone, now, in this generation, this decade, this year...it is doomed to be the pawn of time."

In this blog entry, imagine you are a well-read literary critic or book reviewer who has decided to put the New York Times book review in its place. You have decided to DISAGREE by carefully considering the question: In what way is the communication technology of 1984 relevant today, 59 years later?

To support your argument for or against, discuss a single section in depth from the portion of the book assigned so far. For instance, you could analyze a passage, a scene, a chapter, a character, or a sub-plot and relate it to a contemporary concern or problem. (Please provide page numbers for quotes, examples, and ideas that you reference.)

To receive full credit for this assignment, you must demonstrate that you have read the text. Citing a short passage from the first few pages or discussing only plot details listed on the back cover of the book (or in the Spark Notes) will not count as "in depth."

Post an answer of at least 300 words to your blog. DEADLINE: your blog post should be online at 11 a.m. -- one hour before class begins.

Suggestions:
There are many, many ways to successfully answer this question. Here are a few examples of technology in 1984 you might relate to 2008:

• the use of communication technology for surveillance
• the role of communication technology in politics
• the use of communication technology for memory (or to manipulate history)
• legal controls on communication technology in 1984 and the present
• the intentional manipulation of language
• technological determinism (Did the technologies of 1984 cause the society of 1984? Do today's technologies cause social consequences in the same way?)
• the relationship between dissent/resistance and communication technology
• and many more...