FREN 3040

Digital Texts: Literature, Data, Politics

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2022-2023.

We live in an age of algorithms wherein seemingly every aspect of life can be broken down, measured, and even sold as data. But how did we get here? And where are we going? This course privileges literature as a unique lens for exploring our digital past, present, and potential futures. In it, we will leverage an array of literary forms—from experimental prose and poetry to science fiction—to renew our understanding not only of the relationships between writing and so-called information technologies, but of such pressing issues as algorithmic bias, automation, neocolonialism, and digital labor. Literary and theoretical readings include texts by Hari Kunzru, Georges Perec, Gilles Deleuze, Achille Mbembe, Antoinette Rouvroy, Bernard Stiegler, and Donna Haraway, among others.

When Offered Spring.

Distribution Category (ALC-AS, LA-AS)

View Enrollment Information