Many writers consider technology as a self-evident thing; these lectures will not assume that it exists in this form. By looking at issues from the side of subjective experience, the lectures seek to unravel the self-evidence. Some writers have assumed that whatever the benefits technology confers, the human subject remains robustly independent. Others have painted a dystopian picture of technology erasing the human. The series rejects both views.
In the first term the lectures will be concerned with the technologies of communication. The second term will be concerned with technologies of energy and power. Reading, writing, script, print, telegraphy, telephony, the phonograph, writing machines, the archive, the domain of recording will all be considered.
Mark Cousins has taught and lectured at the AA since the 1980s. He is Director of History and Theory at the AA. He was visiting professor at Columbia 2000–08 and is now Guest Professor at South Eastern University Nanjing, China. He was the founder member of the new graduate school, The London Consortium. The Friday lectures have been part of the AA Public Programme for over 20 years.
Autumn schedule:
Homer and the Voice (22 October)
Inscription and Spacing (29 October)
The Engraved Line (12 November)
Neighbours Without Proximity (19 November)
This series will take place in the Autumn and Winter Terms at 5.00 in the Lecture Hall.