JACKSON, Tenn. — Jan. 27, 2011 — Technology and culture will be the topic for the next Town and Gown series at Union University from Feb. 10-March 10.
The Town and Gown series is an opportunity for community members interested in various topics to attend lectures and participate in discussions in a classroom setting. The classes are free and open to the public.
“Technology has become so deeply interwoven into the fabric of our day-to-day lives that it’s difficult for us to grasp its impact,” said Justin Barnard, associate professor of philosophy at Union. “Increasingly, technology is not simply something we use; it is who we are.”
Barnard said this Town and Gown series “takes a look at who we are becoming in and through the various technologies we use. It also wrestles with the crucial question, ‘Should we become who or what we’re becoming?’”
The schedule for the series is:
- Feb. 10, 6 p.m., in the Carl Grant Events Center: “Only Technology Can Save Us From the Problems Technology Has Caused,” with Read Schuchardt, associate professor of media ecology at Wheaton College.
- Feb. 17, 6 p.m., in Harvey Auditorium (located in the Barefoot Student Union Building): “Perfecting Ourselves to Death: Technology, Humanity, and the Quest for Perfection,” with C. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union.
- Feb. 24, 6 p.m., in Harvey Auditorim: “Augustine, Aquinas and Asimov: a Christian View on the Creation of Artificial Moral Agents,” with Gene Rohrbaugh, associate professor of computer science at Messiah College.
- March 3, 6 p.m., in the Carl Grant Events Center: “Back to the Shire: From English Village, to Global Village, and Back Again,” with Arthur W. Hunt III, associate professor of communications at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
- March 10, 6 p.m., in the Carl Grant Events Center: “Unnatural Selection: Technological (r)Evolution by Consumer Desire,” with Barnard.
For more information, call Barnard at (731) 661-5963.