In this talk, I consider the university––its past, present, and possible futures––as a technology in a historical lineage extending from the invention of writing and the codex to the printing press, the modern scientific lab, and digital search engines. How might such an expanded history of the university and technology more broadly help us better understand the future of knowledge in a digital age? I will give particular attention to concepts such as epistemic authority, virtue, and ideals and the ways in which universities and related technologies have helped legitimate them and, thus, knowledge itself. This event is co-sponsored by BIDS.
CSTMS Colloquia host invited speakers representing a wide range of research interests from around the world. They are often live-streamed, and you are welcome to watch when they are.
Speaker(s)
Chad Wellmon
University of Virginia
Chad Wellmon is an Associate Professor of German Studies at the University of Virginia. His primary research and teaching areas include European intellectual history, Romanticism, and media and social theory. His published work includes Becoming Human: Romantic Anthropology and the Embodiment of Freedom (2010) and Organizing Enlightenment: Information Overload and the Invention of the Modern University (2015).