UW News
April 30, 2009
Technology and distraction is subject of symposium
A daylong symposium on Technology, Distraction, and Immortality is planned for 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 10, in 241 Mary Gates. Sponsored by the Information School, the Department of Psychiatry and the Comparative Religion Program, the symposium takes up the topic of technology as both an enabler and a disabler in the search for a more meaningful life.
The symposium will feature six speakers:
- Hillarie Cash, a psychotherapist specializing in video game and Internet addictions, on Cyber Addiction: Seeking Escape from the Abyss.
- Sheldon Solomon, an experimental existential social psychologist at Skidmore, on The Future of the Human Mind.
- Marcel O’Gorman, a media theorist at the University of Waterloo, on Technoculture as Immortality Ideology.
- Jason Hawreliak, a PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo, on Terror Management in Digital Game Analysis and Design.
- David Levy, a computer scientist at the UW, on Technology, Distraction and Contemplation.
- Daniel Liechty, a social work professor and Ernest Becker scholar with doctorates in both religion and philosophy, TBA.
Pre-registration is strongly advised. The fee is $40 including the DVD Flight from Death, and $25 without the DVD. Registration at the door is $30 for the general public and free for UW students and faculty. Click here for further information and registration.
