Type of Credit: Elective
Credit(s)
Number of Students
This course is about you. This course aims to provide you critical thinking and agency that is necessary to empower you to lead a free and meaningful life in the future, starting from now.
The “digitization” of our everyday lives, from private sectors to public spheres, is in effect reconfiguring power structures in the human society. Such shifting landscape, involving political economy, law, and technology deeply impacts the power relationship between the citizens and the State. In this course, we will explore and think critically about how the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence is reshaping democratic societies and our own autonomy. We look at how centralized and surveillance models of the internet services has been paving the way to Surveillance Capitalism and Digital Authoritarianism.
Do you have uncanny feelings about the “digital age”? Are you aware of the “parasite with the mind of god”? This course aims to show you the Invisible, to show you how Power works, and ultimate to show you how freedom and a better world is still possible once we free ourselves from mind-forged manacles and take collective actions.
能力項目說明
This class aims to create a lively and friendly space for young thinkers and (would-be) activists to engage with each other, and to explore deeply about the values and goals they hope to carry on for a joyful and meaningful life.
Besides reading materials, lectures, and discussions, this course incorporates three sets of original workshops:
Students will gain knowledge about the social-economical structures of contemporary times and building on that understanding, how the “digitization” of the private and public sphere creates critical issues concerning freedom, democracy, and human rights.
| 教學週次Course Week | 彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week | 彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type |
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Week |
Topic |
Content and Reading Assignment |
Teaching Activities and Homework |
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1 |
Red Pill/ Blue Pill |
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2 |
Mind-Forged Manacles Clanging |
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Discover your Polaris.
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3 |
Seeing the Invisible—How Did We Get Here |
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4 |
Arnold, The Folklore of Capitalism (1939), Chapter 1 |
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5 |
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6 |
A Better World Is Not Assured, But It Is Possible |
Kropotkin, An Appeal to the Young (1880)
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7 |
Parasite with the Mind of God |
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8 |
Moglen & Choudhary, The Last Kilometer, The Last Chance (re:publica 2016) |
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9 |
Too Big to Fail: The Political Economy of the digital age and what it means to Freedom |
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10 |
We, the People: creating Digital “Bill of Rights”
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【Off-campus learning】
Visiting the NGOs advocating for Freedom in the digital age: Judicial Reform Foundation (Digital Law Taskforce) 民間司法改革基金會數位法小組
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Intro to the Digital Bill of Rights Movement and getting to know the civil communities advocating for the movement
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11 |
Why is Privacy a Prerequisite to Freedom?
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12 |
State Power: Digital Authoritarianism (DA) Moglen, Privacy under attack: the NSA files revealed new threats to democracy (2014) |
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13 |
Private Sector: Surveillance Capitalism (SC)
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14 |
Transcending the Contemporary Mainstream Issues
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15 |
【Off-campus learning】
Visiting the NGOs advocating for Freedom in the digital age:
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Intro to the open culture movement and campaigns regarding law, policies, and governmental monitoring in Taiwan. Getting to know the defenders and communities sustaining the movements.
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16 |
Freedom Begins by Knowing that a Better World is Possible |
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17 |
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18 |
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No restrictions on student’s choice of using “Artificial Intelligence” for course related works. Whereas, what we do value, is to be mindful of what the “tools” that you are using, including being aware of the effects of your choice, internal and external; short-term and long term.