Technology has changed our lives, and scientific knowledge has enhanced human capacities. At the same time, though, this development is also experienced as a threat. Killing missiles, controlling 'Big Brothers,' and monstrous creatures are often considered the flip-side of technological advancement. This course asks: What is the relationship between technology and the "human"? Can there be progress of technology without a regress of humanity? Or is technology liberating us from the bonds of nature? We will discuss possible answers to these questions by looking at key texts in German literature, philosophy, and cultural history from the eighteenth century to Post-Modernity.
Technology has changed our lives, and scientific knowledge has enhanced human capacities. At the same time, though, this development is also experienced as a threat. Killing missiles, controlling 'Big Brothers,' and monstrous creatures are often considered the flip-side of technological advancement. This course asks: What is the relationship between technology and the "human"? Can there be progress of technology without a regress of humanity? Or is technology liberating us from the bonds of nature? We will discuss possible answers to these questions by looking at key texts in German literature, philosophy, and cultural history from the eighteenth century to Post-Modernity.
