Counterculture and Cyberculture in the United States 4219-SD0040
This course is designed to study the relationship between counterculture and cyberculture in the US or rather, how the 1960s were crucial for the 1990s Internet culture in the US. In that sense, we will try to trace the ways in which American counterculture has shaped and defined a number of pivotal assumptions on which cyberculture is founded. Consequently, the course will offer historical and conceptual overview of perspectives on counterculture and cyberculture. We will look at what these two have in common and how are they different from each other; simply put, what happens when the hippie meets technology and when the two are confronted by mainstream consumer culture.
Topics discussed will include but are not limited to: military industrial research culture of the cold war era, countercultural vision of the Internet, the hippies, the Anonymous, contemporary hacktivist culture, or cyberattacks.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
After completing the course a student:
Knowledge:
has introductory theoretical knowledge of counterculture and cyberculture
is able to recognize how counterculture is related to cyberculture
recognizes the dynamics and consequences of changes in defining cyberculture
Skills:
is able to critically use theories and concepts concerning cyber and counterculture
interprets the dynamics of cultural phenomena related to the Internet
has the ability to work in a group in order to analyze different meaning of concepts
Competences:
understands the role of counterculture and cyberculture
is able to cooperate in a group and participate in discussions
Assessment criteria
Attendance – 10%
Active in-class participation – 15%
Short response papers – 25%
Midterm test – 25%
Final paper –25%
Bibliography
In-class readings might include:
Kaiser, "1968 in America Music, Politics, Chaos, Counterculture and the Shaping of a Generation"
Bell, "An Introduction to Cybercultures"
Brownell, "American Counterculture of the 1960s"
Roszak, "The Making of a Counter Culture Reflections on the Technocratic Society and Its Youthful Opposition"
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: