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Gender and Technology

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Instructor:

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Winker

Course Format:

2 hours Seminar

Period:

Summer Semester

Language:

German

Contents:

Technologies, on one hand, are socially formed and, on the other hand, influence the structures of society. Thus, gender relations also have an influence on the development and use of technologies, and are in turn influenced by technologies themselves. This course examines the exact nature of these co-constructions of gender and technology in theory and practice. The common issue is how the changes accompanying the technologies influence the gender-hierarchical division of labour, stereotypes of masculinity and femininity and the individual behaviour of women and men. We will also ask which perspectives arise from this question for a gender-sensitive design of technology.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Understanding the theoretical concept of the co-construction of gender and technology
  • Broadening media competence while being aware of gender

Reading Resources:

  • Döring, Nicola: Sozialpsychologie des Internet. Die Bedeutung des Internet für Kommunikationsprozesse, Identitäten, soziale Beziehungen und Gruppen. 2., vollständig überarb. und erw. Aufl., Göttingen, 2003
  • Wajcman, Judy: Gender in der Technologieforschung, in: Pasero, Ursula / Gottburgsen, Anja (Hg.): Wie natürlich ist Geschlecht? Wiesbaden, 2002, S. 270-292
  • Winker, Gabriele: Informationstechnik und Geschlechterhierarchie – eine bewegende Beziehung. In: Technikfolgenabschätzung – Theorie und Praxis, Nr. 2, 11. Jg., 2002, S. 70-78

Performance Record:

  • Aktive participation
  • Realisation of a specific Internet inquiry focusing on gender
  • Presentation and discussion of the results in front of the class

Workload:

60 hours total

Further Information:

http://www.tu-harburg.de/agentec

Contact:

winker@tu-harburg.de

Credit points of this module can be found in the course plan for the corresponding course of study.

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