We are 'going virtual' in more and more areas of our lives - from shopping to education, filing systems to love affairs. How can we assess the relationship between technology and culture when culture is so imbued with technology? This clear, concise and readable text aims to offer the student a one-stop guide through this complex and slippery terrain. Introducing a wealth of theoretical perspectives in a lucid and engaging style and covering a range of topical, challenging and intriguing examples - from cyborgs to digital art - it will be an essential text for everyone wanting to make sense of crucial forces of change on contemporary culture.
Description
Introduction: 'Culture' and 'Technology' -- 1. Theoretical Frameworks -- 2. Art and Technology -- 3. Digital Aesthetics: Cultural Effects of New Media Technologies -- 4. Science Fictions -- 5. Cyborgs: the Body, Information and Technology -- 6. Technology, Thought and Consciousness -- 7. Getting Wired: War, Commerce and the Nation-State -- 8. Living with the Virtual.