Walter Benjamin’s concerns about the role of art in the face of technological advancements will be explored in the upcoming Retro Reading course led by Curtis Maughan, director of the World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio. The course, titled “Technology in Crisis,” will focus on analyzing Benjamin’s influential essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Technological Reproducibility” (1936), which questioned how film had changed the nature of art as it became a dominant form of entertainment.
The course will involve close readings supplemented by explorations of AI platforms and open-world video games, among other contemporary technologies. Students will delve into the historical context of the 1930s, similar to our current moment, where the growth of film impacted various aspects of daily life. The course aims to attract individuals interested in how generative AI will transform our media landscape. While no application is required for this course, interested students should secure their spots early by registering. For further details about the course, contact Curtis Maughan at cmaughan@uark.edu.
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