106-055 Cybercultures

50 points of first year arts including at least 25 points from a specified list of subject areas, see Prerequisites.

From the virtual worlds of cyberspace to Third World electronic sweatshops, new digital technologies have radically transformed many aspects of the body, identity and community. This subject analyses the way in which cyberspace gives new meanings to our experiences of everyday life, particularly those experiences constituted by geographical, national and cultural boundaries. From visuality to virtuality, students will explore the transnational imaginary through the metaphor of travel as they navigate the information superhighway to map the new issues of embodiedness, virtual reality, cross-cultural transactions and global networks. Taking the internet as a central focus and using a range of methodological techniques from hypertext to ethnography, from postcolonialism to feminist and queer theories, students will engage intertextually with both popular culture and the mass media.

An essay of 1500 words 40% (due mid-semester) and an essay of 2500 words 60% (due at the end of semester).

A subject reader will be available.