Through a Glass Darkly: Technology and Society in /Black Mirror/

In this course we will explore the depictions of technology and society in Charlie Booker’s sci-fi anthology series, Black Mirror (2011-present). Discussions of episodes will be supplemented by popular, critical and academic articles, as well as introductory theoretical texts. Among the questions we will address are the following: How have mass surveillance, instant information, and techno-mediated communication reshaped human relationships, from the personal to the political? Is the increasing presence of technology in our everyday lives experienced equally across gender, class, and race? What does this new pervasiveness of technology mean for our collective future? 3 hrs. sem.