Communication Arts 379: Global Technology & Digital Culture
Digital media, devices, and networks are deeply embedded in our cultural fabric and are reshaping cultures worldwide. While networks enable instant communication and sharing, they aren’t neutral, and their benefits aren’t evenly distributed. Examine how digital environments affect global cultures differently, and how local differences shape the use of technology. Explore what being ‘global’ means in the context of rapid, technologically facilitated changes and analyze how these technologies impact offline experiences within communities based on nationality, region, race, gender, and class.
The Myth of DIY Autonomy
By Elisa Hoffman
The film explores how despite the romantic cultural fantasy of independence that surrounds DIY culture, contemporary making and content creation are never truly autonomous once they enter the world. They must surrender creative control to platform infrastructures for visibility and survival, and they must submit to global manufacturing systems in order to build reproducible objects.