This course serves to introduce topics from the humanities that impact our understanding of computing. This has a dual purpose: understanding the culture that gave rise to computers, and finding “blind spots” in this culture possibly leading to new technologies. This course is not about the “digital humanities” in the sense of using computer to help research in the humanities. The course will look at the more specific issue of computation as such, and the more advanced field of AI. It will introduce these from a historical context, and lead on to a  philosophical analysis.


Following an introduction, the course will present an overview of the field. The last third of the course will involve more class discussion and possible projects.