Information, Technology, and the Reinterpretation of Modern Chinese History

Information has become central to our contemporary world. Ideas about information and information technology influence everything from government policy, to corporate organization, to AI language models. Deep ethical concerns have emerged alongside this influence. Do information systems and the technologies they operate through control our lives? Do we as individuals and groups still have a say? How have people responded to changes in information technology (and resulting crises of control) in the past? Philosophers, scientists, and historians have been discussing these questions since the mid-twentieth century. This seminar will lead students through some fundamental ideas in information, technology, and media studies. Crossing time periods and cultures, we will seek to draw connections and generalizable conclusions that can be applied to new research on the case of modern Chinese history. Furthermore, we will discuss the theoretical interventions, deviations, and critiques that the case of modern China can contribute to global information studies and the historical social sciences more generally.