The course is connected to the following study programs

  • Advanced Teacher Education level 8-13, 5-year Master's Programme
  • Translation and Professional Communication, Master's programme
  • Technology, Humans and Society, Master's programme
  • Master's Programme in English

Teaching language

English and Norwegian

Course contents

How can narratives in literature, TV and film throw light on the relation between technology and humans? Do they have important warnings or advice to us in a society where many values, economic as well as cultural, are related to technology? This course deals with narratives in media-forms that depict various relations between humans and technology: genetic modification and cloning, virtual reality, robot/cyborg and simulated realities and agents. Based on The Age of Enlightenment’s understanding of the individual, we examine how different works challenge our understanding of human identity as individuals and as a species, and at the same time transfer certain human characteristics to machines, physical as well as virtual. Technological progress puts the conditions for privacy, property, free will, life and mortality at stake. The selected works will be analysed to reveal how and if these categories must be revised and how our attitudes to technology have changed concurrently with technological development.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge

Upon completion of the course, the student shall

  • Show an understanding of the present role of technology in the development of the world’s industrial civilisation and how it appears in various entertainment media

  • See parallels from history and philosophy in the course

  • Show an understanding of the degree to which various technologies are interpreted as aids or threats to society’s basal functions

  • Have knowledge about various main-stream genres and how they are used as fora for discussion about technological development

Skills

Upon completion of the course, the student shall be able to

  • Reflect upon literary and narrative works as symptomatic parts of an implicit conversation within the western and industrial culture

  • Explain how diverse genres reflect and contribute to important discussions in society

General competences

Upon completion of the course, the student shall be able to

  • Explain the value and relevance of popular narratives’ contribution to the understanding of technology’s place in modern society

Examination requirements

The student must have participated in and presented an individual or group presentation for the class.

Teaching methods

The course is web-based, with one compulsory physical seminar when the semester starts. Apart from this, all teaching will be in Canvas. The course is founded on a module-based study guide and based on self-study supported by digital learning resources. The lecturer will present the material, and the students will participate in conversations on “chat” in smaller groups. Two portfolio assignments will be written based on these conversations. The students will produce a short video where an article or a narrative is analysed for the other students. The lecturer will be available 2 hours per week for consultation on chat. The workload is estimated at 270 hours.

Evaluation

The person responsible for the course decides, in cooperation with student representative, the form of student evaluation and whether the course is to have a midway or end of course evaluation in accordance with the quality system for education, chapter 4.1.

Assessment methods and criteria

The examination consists of two individual tests:

  • Three (3) short assignments, about 3000 words in total, submitted in a portfolio, counts 40%. One or all of these may be substituted with a short 5-minute video presentation at the discretion of the instructor.

  • A 48-hour home examination (2000-3000 words), covering syllabus and content, counts 60%

Students in the Technology, Humans and Society Programme may submit in English or Norwegian. Students in the English Programme must submit all graded work in English. Translation studies students may submit in English or Norwegian.

Last updated from FS (Common Student System) June 30, 2024 5:35:18 PM