人類身份的本質——我們如何看待自己，如何感知他人——這不是一個固定的概念，它隨著宗教信仰、社會風俗和哲學理論的變化而變化。今天，我們生活的這個世界，科學和技術是最強有力的力量，它們重塑了我們的文化，也改變了我們對於身份的定義和感知。在這次的研討會中，我們將研究科學和技術對身份的影響。我們將討論的題目包括：

• 身份的本質：是什麼使我們不同於他人？我們如何給人們分類？科技怎麼改變人們定義自己和向他人表現自己的方法？
  
  
• 媒介身份：在媒介環境下，我們如何認知他人的身份？人們怎樣利用媒介來建立和突出自己的身份？資訊技術如何影響著我們身份的各個方面，比如文化、民族、宗教以及語言？
  
  
• 瞭解身份：在瞭解科技、生物測定學和遺傳學改變我們定義和認識身份的方式上有什麼進展的？
  
  
• 隱私：日益增長的尖端科技，會對人的識別和追蹤產生怎樣的影響？有關我們的大量資料是如何被收集、保護和洩露的？
  
  
• 後人類身份：人工智慧的進步、機器人的發明和醫學的發展引起了一些問題：什麼是「為人」？。人和機器會成為統一的整體嗎？
  
  
• 描繪身份：新的媒體技術怎樣改變人像畫的傳統—有什麼新的方法可以用來捕捉並且突顯個人的某些方面或本質？藝術家是如何回應上面的問題呢？

有每週閱讀和書面作業。要積極參與班級討論。有一次期終考試。

如果你想學習這門課程，請聯繫授課老師。

The nature of human identity - how we think of ourselves, how we perceive others - is a mutable concept, changing with the rise and fall of religious beliefs, social mores, philosophical theories. Today, we live in a world in which science and technology are among the most powerful forces reshaping our culture - and thus our definitions and perceptions of identity. In this seminar, we will examine the impact of science and technology on identity. The topics we will be discussing include:

• The nature of identity: What makes an individual different than all others - how do we classify people? How are technologies changing the ways people define themselves and present themselves to others?
  
  
• Mediated identity: How do we sense the identity of others in a mediated environment? How do people use media to create and project their identity? How are communication technologies changing cultural, national, religious and linguistic aspects of identity?
  
  
• Sensing identity: How are advances in sensing technologies, biometrics, and genetics changing the way we define and recognize identity?
  
  
• Privacy: What are the implications of the increasingly sophisticated technologies for identifying and tracking people? How are the vast amounts of data that are compiled about us gathered, protected, and divulged?
  
  
• Post-human identity: Advances in artificial intelligence, robots, and medical augmentation raise questions about what does it mean to be human. Is there a continuum that runs between man and machine?
  
  
• Portraying identity: How can new media technologies transform the tradition of the portrait - what are the new ways that some aspect or essence of the individual can be captured and displayed? How have artists responded to the questions above?

There will be weekly reading and writing assignments. Active participation in class discussions is required. There will also be a final term paper.

Please contact the instructor if you are interested in taking this class.