OxfordTutorial:TechRevolutions

Catalog description

This interdisciplinary course is devoted to the study of the cultural changes produced by changing technologies, from prehistory to the present and future. We may consider the prehistoric control of fire and its effects on human anatomy; the gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9; the Black Plague vs. future global depopulation; the first agricultural revolution; or artificial superintelligence. Looking at earlier technological revolutions and their impacts on human society can tell us much about our own society and its prospects amidst the extraordinary technological and cultural upheaval to come. Technological revolutions can also highlight numerous philosophical issues about human beings, organizations, and societies, and these will also be explored.