Alumni
Alumni College
Society and Technology:The more things change, the more things change . . . (or do they?)
Modern society drives and is driven by technology. While to some extent this has always been true (one could ask whether culture could exist without some technology), the accelerated pace of technological development and the immediacy of its consequences on society have made the topic one of inherent interest and importance.
Although the theme of Reunions 2010 is technology, it is not focused on any pre-identified technology or technologies; it is better to think of the consequences of technology: How does technology change society? How does society manage technology?
This year we will have a two-part Alumni College:
January 20–22: How does technology change
society?
June 2–4: How does society manage technology?
Part one: How does technology change society?
To answer this question, we will begin with selecting important aspects
of contemporary society that are being changed by technology. We
will explore which technologies are driving those changes, for good
or for ill. We will look in further detail at the challenges that
technology poses and how best to meet those challenges. We will dig
deeper into the overall questions as they relate to:
• How we eat: One of the first major technologies adopted by humans was agriculture. For millennia, technology has changed what we eat and the way we eat it.
• How we live: Through so many so-called "revolutions," technology has changed the environment in which we live, influencing where we live, how we live, and how we transport ourselves.
• How we relate: From campfire storytelling to Twitter, technology has changed the ways in which we choose whom to relate with and how we interact with them.
• How we combat sickness and death: Thanks to technology, the average lifespan in the United States increased eight hours every day during the 20th century. In addition to how long we live, technology affects how healthy we are during our lifespan, what healthcare we receive, and the conditions under which we receive it.
When you sign up for the January session, please indicate your top two choices from the choices above (food, living, relating, health) for Wednesday and Thursday afternoon conference sessions. See related readings below.
Faculty: A first-rate set
of Reed alumni will lead these sessions
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Keith Allen ’83 will lead the unit on food. He is head of computational biology at Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc. at the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. Presentation |
 |
Paul Manson ’01 will lead the unit on environment. He is an environmental-policy analyst focusing on ecosystem services for Parametrix, in Portland, Oregon. Presentation |
 |
Howard Rheingold ’68 will lead the unit on relationships. He is well known for his work on the cultural, social, and political implications of modern communication media, affiliated with various institutions in the San Francisco Bay area (Institute for the Future, Stanford University, University of California). Presentation |
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Laura Leviton ’73 will lead the unit on health. She is special adviser for evaluation at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey. Presentation |
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Jim Kahan ’64 is coordinating this year’s Alumni College. He is a semi-retired policy analyst and consultant in Portland, Oregon. Presentation |
Collected Winter Alumni College 2010 readings
(pdf)
For Laura Leviton '73:
Laura C. Leviton, Scott D. Rhodes, and Carol Chang, “Public Health:
Policy, Practice, and Perceptions.” Excerpt of Chapter 4 in Anthony
R. Kovner, James R. Knickman (Eds), Health Care Delivery in the United
States (9th Edition), 2007. NY: Springer.
For Paul Manson '01:
Ted Williams, “Sin City Goes Dry,” Audubon, March-April
2007, pp. 92-100.
General reading:
David Nye, "Technology Matters." Cambridge: MIT Press, 2006.
Read chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 1-31). Note: this entire book will be assigned
for the Summer Alumni College.
Part two: How does technology change society?
The objective of the summer Alumni College session is to identify effective
ways for government, the private sector, and communities to exploit the
advantages of technology while preventing or mitigating their harms.
We will look separately and together at three ways of management—governmental
(laws and regulations), economic (market forces), and cultural (norms,
values, and ethics)—and consider how these approaches may be combined
to best address the challenges that emerged from the work of the winter
Alumni College. We will begin with an examination of how the United
States has managed technology in the last century, and compare this to
at least one different approach.
Faculty:
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Cost & registration:
• $350 for January session
• $350 for June session
• $600 for both sessions (the latter will build upon lessons
from the former)
Please contact Mike Teskey, director of alumni & parent relations, for more information.
Tentative schedule:
This is a draft schedule, subject to change as new events are added. Please check in for the final schedule with confirmed locations.
| Wednesday, January 20 | |
| 8–8:45 a.m. | Check in with coffee and sweets |
| 9–11:50 a.m. | Plenary session |
| Noon–12:50 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1–2:50 p.m. | Plenary session |
| 3–4:20 p.m. | Conference sessions in separate rooms |
| 4:30–5 p.m. | Plenary session |
| 5–8 p.m. | Free for dinner |
| 8–10 p.m. | Screening of Flowers for Algernon |
| Thursday, January 21 | |
| 8:30–9 a.m. | Coffee and sweets |
| 9–11:50 a.m. | Plenary session |
| Noon–12:50 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1–2:50 p.m. | Conference sessions in separate rooms |
| 3–3:50 p.m. | Plenary session |
| 4–5 p.m. | Conference sessions in separate rooms |
| 5–8 p.m. | Free for dinner |
| 7–9 p.m. | Storytelling with Cricket Parmalee ’67: Alumni of all ages love to tell stories about their time at Reed, come share your stories. |
| Friday, January 22 | |
| 8:30–9 a.m. | Coffee and sweets |
| 9–9:30 a.m. | Plenary session |
| 9:40–11:20 a.m. | Conference sessions in separate rooms |
| 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. | Final plenary session |
| 1 p.m. | Concluding lunch |
