MEDIA STUDIES  82.682
Semester 2, July 2012
Lecturer / Lynn Hurst
Room: A.4.10 / Thursday 1 - 4 pm

Beyond Human: The Cyborg Revolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urVXWUD8Q3Y

What are the social implications of this technology? Who will have access to it? Will everyone have the ability to possess the highest physical and mental skills? Will it pacify the closet Eugenics* freaks? Will it create more economic and social stratification or will it equalize populations?

*Many used 19th century scientific advances, the technology of photography & statistics, and the theory of evolution to argue for a science of social hygiene that would cleanse the world of the 'degenerate' and promote the reproduction of 'superior' races & classes. For this purpose the Eugenics Education Society in England was founded in 1908. Darwin's Descent of Man was cited as a support for this 'science'.

With savages the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health. We civilized me, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of everyone to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilized society propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man... We must, therefore, bear the undoubtedly bad effects of the weak surviving. (Darwin)

The new 'Cyborg Revolution' has the possibility to dramatically improve the lives of many but also has the dangerous ability to set arbitrary standards of physicality and give those with the greatest power even more.

NB: I wonder if the scientists and researchers responsible for creating this incredible technology would have stood up under the standards set by Eugenics Societies around the world, especially those imposed by eugenics most famous followers, Adolph Hitler.

BITCH SLAP: The movie

Check out the website, especially the commentary by Michael Hirst. Hopefully we will get a chance to see the film here.


http://www.bitchslapmovie.com/

Molvania

http://www.molvania.com/molvania/index.html


Check it out. Is this:

1. Humorous & benign
2. Humorous but somewhat politically incorrect? Why?
3. Promotes Western negative stereotypes of Eastern Europeans?
4. A very clever parody of travel guides?
5. All, none, other?

THE INTERNET AS PLAYGROUND AND FACTORY

A conference on digital labor. This looks good. Check it out.


On November 12 to 14, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts will host an international conference, "The Internet as Playground and Factory," which will explore the meaning and changing face of labor in the digital era. For three days, more than 90 theorists, educators, artists, legal scholars, activists, students, programmers, historians, and social media experts will join to re-evaluate what constitutes unpaid labor, value, leisure, play, fun, and exploitation in an economy that is increasingly driven by the expropriation of our online activities.

This event will commence a biennial series of conferences titled, “The Politics of Digital Media.”

Conference website:
http://digitallabor.org/

Charter for Compassion

• RT @TEDchris Special Sunday treat. We've just posted SIX talks to prepare for the upcoming Charter for #Compassionhttp://ted.com @jberrill 2009-11-01