Ultimately, this dinner discussion led to the formation of a new interdisciplinary concentration called Technology, Literacy, and Culture. Hale, the TLC advisor, and professors and administrators from a variety of COLA departments developed a concentration that allows students to explore a wide range of issues and ideas concerning the impact of information technology on society, and provide them with an understanding of the roles of information technology and society.
Students also develop new forms of media literacy that new technologies make possible.
Hale said the concentration, which began offering classes this semester, has two primary objectives. Students learn how new technology affects society from a global perspective, and then become familiar with new technology. For example, students will consider issues such as the differential access people have to information, and how expanded access to information changes the ways people understand their world. Students come from a range of academic backgrounds, including anthropology, philosophy, history, economics, government, and psychology. The concentration involves a commitment of 18 hours, including TLC 321 and TLC 360, a senior capstone seminar.