Marshall Mcluhan - Education in the Electronic Age (1970)

Information

The following article is an address delivered by Dr. McLuhan on January 19, 1967 to the Provincial Committee on the Aims and Objectives of Education in the Schools of Ontario.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natasha Vita-More - The New Genre -- Primo Posthuman (2005)

Introduction

Many trends never catch on. They remain thoughts without a future. It is a lexicon of culture that takes hold and finds its way across generations and circumstances. Thus is the story of human nature, as it is
diced and sliced over the millennia by theoreticians, philosophers, artists and scholars. With theories tripping effortlessly onto blank slates, the cyclic changes of social progress move proudly forward and humbly backward judging our passions—the causes and effects of existence.
 

Human nature and its metaphorical attribution toward the evolution of humanity play a leading role in the identity of society. Worn like a badge reflecting how we see ourselves, our nature prescribes what we want others to see in us as well. Humans have gone so far as to impose on human nature, that they have even written a treatise to its cause. Hume (1739) Others develop new biosocial fields advancing the methodological investigation of biology and society which underlie human behavior. One thing can be certain, no matter the erudition invested in capturing its essence human nature changes over time, as will the image of how we see ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vance Packard - The Naked Society (1964)

 

Abstract

 

Originally published in 1964, The Naked Society was the first book to discuss how then-new technologies such as hidden microphones, concealed cameras, modern filing systems, and the polygraph lie detector could be used by government, employers, stores, credit bureaus, security personnel, and other officials to invade our civil liberties. Such activity, which represented the most flagrant of the many assaults upon individual rights, was only part of Vance Packard's truly shocking book, which also considered the ominous implications of loyalty investigations, passport and travel restrictions, and overzealous police actions. In the end, according to Packard, new technologies, manipulated by government and business, were eroding our freedoms, creating a world akin to something out of George Orwell's 1984.

Timelier than ever in today's world, where our civil liberties are under constant threat from technology and the actions of government and business, this all new edition of The Naked Society features an introduction by noted historian Rick Perlstein.