SOCIOL 300 Feminist, Anti-Colonial and Post-Capitalist Technofutures - Course Outlines

Course Prescription

Introduces students to theoretical approaches for understanding the social, material and power (political) dimensions of science and technology, as well as practical approaches for imagining and enacting more ethical, equitable, collaborative and anti-colonial technofutures. Topics studied include: science, technology and social theory; feminist, anti-colonial and post-capitalist approaches to science and technology; translating knowledge to engage public audiences.

Course Overview

Whether we notice it or not, science and technology play central roles in shaping our everyday lives. Back when writing the Communist Manifesto (1848), Marx noticed how capitalism was inducing rapid forms of technological innovation. He presented a future vision that these new technologies could potentially liberate people from the need to spend most of their time engaging in productive labour. If technologies could produce all of the things people needed to survive, they could be employed to free up vast amounts of leisure time for the working class. As with other social theorists, Marx’s vision was based on specific social theories about technology, as well as theories of how social change happens through technologies. One of Marx’s central social theories contends that technologies shape people’s lives in ways that lead to particular social outcomes, in other words, that technology is a part of a trajectory of “historical materialism.” Marx’s theory of change illustrates how people might shape the trajectory of historical materialism to produce more equitable outcomes for the working class: according to Marx, a more liberatory future could be achieved if workers rise up and shift the ownership of productive technologies from the private to public domain. Many Marxists today hold onto Marx’s vision, seen in some Marxists’ commitment to creating a fully automated luxury utopia.

However, Marx is not the only one with social theories and theories of change surrounding technology. Scholars have since considered how both science and technology influence society, and how they might lead to fundamentally different kinds of economic systems and power relations (e.g., moving from power-over to power-with).

In this class, we will explore social theories and theories of change regarding science and technology. In particular, we will explore how science and technology’s political, social and material effects (e.g., inequality, pollution) shape people's lives and how they could shape people's lives in ways that might lead to more ethical, equitable, collaborative, anti-colonial and post-capitalist outcomes.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II in Sociology, or COMMS 103 and 208 Restriction: SOCIOL 311

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Engage in critical self-reflection, dialogue and collaboration with the support of our Course Agreements/Practices and Social Location Exercise. (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)
Use critical social theory to analyze a specific technology or scientific process. (Capability 3 and 4)
Write for a public audience. (Capability 6)
Articulate your working theory of change regarding science, technology and society. (Capability 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6)
Critically imagine sociotechnical futures that are ethical, equitable, anti-colonial, collaborative and/or post-capitalist. (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)

Assessments

Assessment Type	Percentage	Classification
Internal assessment	100%	Group & Individual Coursework
	100%

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15-point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15-point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 2 hours of lectures, a 1-hour tutorial, 3-4 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 3-4 hours of work on assignments.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected and strongly recommended at all scheduled activities including tutorials to complete components of the course.

Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including tutorials will not be available as recordings.

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

No change.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Capability 1:	People and Place
Capability 2:	Sustainability
Capability 3:	Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4:	Critical Thinking
Capability 5:	Solution Seeking
Capability 6:	Communication
Capability 7:	Collaboration
Capability 8:	Ethics and Professionalism

SOCIOL 300 : Feminist, Anti-Colonial and Post-Capitalist Technofutures

Arts

2024 Semester One (1243) (15 POINTS)