Annotation
LITERATE TECHNOLOGIES (Spring 2022)
David Vichnar, PhD (david.vichnar@ff.cuni.cz)
Office Hours: By e-mail appointment
Compulsory PhD Course; Optional M.A. Course – Programme in Critical & Cultural Theory
Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (Thu 14.10-15.40, Room 34)
DESCRIPTION
It is the aim of this seminar to introduce students from a broad range of backgrounds, and with diverse interests within the philologies, to a set of theoretical and practical issues that accompany any deeper study of language, literature and literacy, and which bear significance beyond the academic domain of literary studies. Through a selective reading of literary and philosophical works, a number of key questions will be addressed: what is language; how does language happen; what makes language possible; how does language define the contours of thought; what is intelligence; is such a thing as artificial intelligence possible; can machines read; what is writing; what are the technological conditions of literacy? The purpose of the seminar is not to assume a philosophical approach to these questions, but to explore how different writers address the question of literacy—within the domain of literature and literary studies, and in accord with changing historical/ technological conditions, in particular since the advent of print media.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For Syllabus and grading information please see the course Moodle page: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=6435