Undergraduate Course: Technology, Religion and Ethics 3/4 (THET10030)
Course Outline
| School | School of Divinity |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The investigation of technology as religion and of the religious origins of technological innovation. Learners will explore the ways in which technology reorders the character of human life and the biosphere, and they will examine the attempts of ethicians and religious communities variously to resist or set limits to this reshaping. The course will involve the study of classical and contemporary narratives of technology, and the use of case studies of particular technological developments such as genetic engineering, electronic communication, and intensive farming. Case studies of traditional religious communities ? such as the Amish and some indigenous peoples ? who have resisted the technological reshaping of life on spiritual grounds will also be deployed. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Divinity/Religious Studies courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
- Recognise and critique the principal narrative devices by which technologies are advocated and embraced in modern consumer oriented societies
- Identify and discuss narratives of resistance to technology deployed by religious groups, new social movements, and philosophical, literary and cultural critics of technology
- Illustrate the deployment of such narratives by groups which are either early or late adopters of new technologies, and of groups who consistently refuse to utilise certain technological devices.
- Explore the ethical implications of new technologies for the character of human life and human dwelling and for the human spiritual journey
- Analyse and critique the particular impact of novel technologies - such as genetic engineering - on the biological as well as psychological constitution of human and other than human existence.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | TechRelEth |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Michael Northcott
Tel: (0131 6)50 8947
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Katrina Munro
Tel: (0131 6)50 8900
Email: |
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