U. Penn Professor Lectures on "New Technologies and the Public Sphere"
The Muhlenberg College Center for Ethics presents The Power of Space and Place: New Technologies and the Public Sphere, a lecture by Keith Hampton, on Tuesday, March 16, at 7:00 p.m., Miller Forum, Moyer Hall.Wednesday, March 3, 2010 00:23 PM
This event, co-sponsored by the Department of Media & Communication, is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.
Changes to the structure of people's social networks and urban spaces may contribute to a
trend that is responsible for constraining exposure to diverse issues, ideas, and opinions in the public sphere. Technological change that influences how and where we maintain relationships and access information may advance or hinder this trend. Hampton will explore how new technologies influence exposure to social diversity in the home, with the closest of social ties; in neighborhoods, with weak ties; and in urban public spaces, with strangers. Are new technologies contributing to a trend that reduces exposure to diversity that is vital for the flow of information, informed deliberation, and the participatory ideals of a democracy? Or, do these technologies have the potential to connect people in new ways that will ultimately increase exposure to social diversity and offer new possibilities for broader engagement within the public sphere?
Hampton is an Assistant Professor in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Hampton’s lecture is part of the series Ethics of Space: Power of Place, programs that will examine three different sub-themes relating to the concept of “space:” BOUNDARIES, including the invisible, the visible, and the geo-political; CONTROLLING SPACE, considering the differences and overlaps between public and private space, and physical and metaphorical space; and SPACE IN BODIES, which will tackle issues of shared identity, constructing differences, and the spaces between people.
Each year, the Center for Ethics sponsors an intensive series designed to encourage discussion and reflection on a timely, pertinent topic. Center for Ethics programs are free and open to all members of the Muhlenberg campus and the local community. For more information on the series, visit www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/ethics.
Muhlenberg College gratefully acknowledges the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation’s support of the Center for Ethics.
