Governing Technological Change

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course is a graduate-level survey of the political economy of technological change. The course begins by investigating the nature of technology and technological change, paying particular attention to the socially constructed nature of technologies. Then, in three sections, it investigates 1) where technological innovations come from, 2) how new technologies spread, and 3) the economic, political, and cultural impacts of new technologies. Throughout the course, students will be asked to interrogate the values and assumptions encoded in technologies and how technologies impact marginalized peoples and communities. Students will emerge with a greater understanding of the complex social, political, and economic forces implicated in technological change.