Spring Open Course: Living Well in the Digital Age

Posted by Tim on December 13, 2021 in Academics, General Education Requirements

“Living Well in the Digital Age”

Spring 2022, T-Th, 11:00 a.m. – 12:20 p.m., 114 Hochstetter

The course takes up the long-standing question of what it means to live a thriving life and examines it the new context of our modern, digitally-connected world.

The rapid development of digital media technologies has presented new challenges and opportunities for the pursuit of eudaimonia, or happiness, a foundational concern of Western philosophy and one enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. This course investigates this problematic through cultural, rhetorical, and media theory as well as concepts of design and usability. Students will encounter and discuss these issues, conducting experiments that encourage them to rethink how they interact with digital media and considering how design practices—from product design to the organization of online communities and the development of individual habits—might help them to “live well.”

This will be an exciting new offering for students from all backgrounds, featuring a dynamic collaboration among four faculty members from the departments of Classics, English, and Media Study, all focused on the question of what it means to live well and flourish in the contemporary world.

Interested students can register under the following course designations:

CL 125LR-COF LEC (23956)

DMS 125LR-REI LEC (23758)

ENG 125LR-KM1 LEC (23749)