FYS 58 Narratives of Technology and Labor
This class will explore narratives of technology in literature and popular culture, asking questions such as: How does technology influence our creativity and interpersonal relationships? What are the personal and social impacts on the lives of tech workers such as data labelers and content moderators–the invisible labor behind the automation, generative AI, and social media companies? We will explore these questions through an intersectional lens reading narratives such as Elaine Castillo’s Moderation, a novel that follows a Filipina immigrant who works as a content moderator for a major tech company and Joy Buolamwini’s Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What is Human in a World of Machines, a memoir that details a Black computer scientist’s discovery of the encoded racial bias in tech products. We will also analyze films that offer cultural commentary on technology, class, and gender. Students are required to attend one mandatory field trip during the semester. Open to first-year frosh only.