hi, this is probably a bit off topic, but I thought some here might be interested in case you haven't heard about it already. Douglas Rushkoff is teaching an online course at Maybe Logic Academy starting oct 1st called Technologies of Persuasion which will be looking into media, marketing, online societies etc.
I'm not related to the MLA site, but came across it via the media-squatters mail list which sent out a notice about this class. I'm now two weeks into the Philip K Dick course also offered by the site (which is really good!). http://www.maybelogic.org/rushkoffcrs.htm http://www.rushkoff.com here's the first part of the course blurb - more on the links above. "This seminar will explore persuasion in a wide range of media. Our task will be to evaluate humanity's ability to maintain agency in the face of the increasingly sophisticated influence techniques used against us." "Does the emergence of interactive media change the balance of power between the masses and their would-be controllers? Or does the Internet merely provide the illusion of independent thinking on yet another tightly controlled media landscape? More importantly, what is the real relationship between people, media, technology, and power? How can we come to recognize the biases of the media that we use - especially before we have committed our society to their implementation? " might see some of you there? cheers Kath -- http://www.aliak.com
