Virtual Worlds, Digital Realities

The subtitle for this course is “The Social Impacts of the Digital Revolution. It is an examination of the complex and varied impacts of our move into a digitized world. From an anthropological perspective we will examine many of the key technologies that have changed social interaction and personal identity, along with several that appear poised to make dramatic social change in the next decade. We will move through different areas of digital reality, specifically focusing on the aspects of: 1) communication technologies (including smartphones and tablets); 2) social media; 3) computer-based structured social environments (such as World of Warcraft, Everquest, and Eve Online); 4) unstructured virtual worlds (such as Second Life). A central theme throughout the course will be the ways in which digital media have been modified by cultural norms in different societies.
Prerequisites: EN 102, COM 101