Technology and Identity

Part 1: The role of communication technology in maintaining/creating an identity

Part 2: The game Civilization 4 simulates the real world very well.  When you first begin your civilization, you pick your leader and country.  This is an example of choosing your identity.  I chose to be the leader for the Egyptian Empire.  I chose this because this leader is a woman.  Chapter 13 in Culture and Technology discusses how gender plays an important role in creating identity.  Lots of communication technology forces one to choose between genders.  In playing this game as a woman I felt I was creating a different identity than when I had played it as Roosevelt.  This influenced my decision making and interactions with other rulers.  For example, I chose to adopt universal suffrage very early on in my game.  If I did not identify as a female, this may not have occurred.  I also think the communication technologies I chose to build in my society helped create its identity.  Early on I chose to build a broadcast tower.  This then brought me to other communication technologies such as the internet and library.  Having these technologies allowed my culture to then become educated and powerful.  Also, I chose the grocer application which allowed my nation to make more money and therefore make stronger deals.  When discussing how technology affects identity, I remembered the beginning of Chapter 13.  Technology is unequally distributed and often times separates nations into the haves and have nots.  My identity for this game was a strong, powerful nation.  I needed this identity in order to obtain all the technological advances I did. 

Part 3: I think this game does a really good job at simulating identity and its regard for communication technology.  Having both female and male rulers helps players pick an identity.  This also makes player maintain a certain identity when they are playing because who they are as a ruler effects how they work with other rulers.  If I want to be a caring, sympathetic female ruler I will keep to myself.  If I want to be a dominating, strong male leader I could use force and take over other empires.  This game also does a good job at challenging identity.  If I want to be a strong powerful female who takes over the entire world I can do that as well.

My screen shot here shows me building the broadcast tower.  This communication technology was extremely helpful in helping to maintain the identity I wanted and gain more technology.