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Politics of Virtual Realities
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Politics of Virtual Realities is a political science course at Middlebury College taught by department co-chair Allison Stanger. This course explores the way in which technology has affected social interaction, political institutions, and economic markets. The syllabus begins by raising some important questions: How has technology changed our politics? Have those changes all been for the good? Primarily, the course focuses on the political, legal, and normative implications of the Internet for liberal democracy. The first part of the course investigates the interplay between capitalism, technology, and democratic values. It begins with US Constitution and explore arguments that it cannot by itself prevent the Internet from becoming a domain of manipulation rather than of freedom. How can we uphold the ideals of liberty and equality? What impact has technology had on the marketplace of ideas and civic virtue? The second part of the course considers a wide range of cases that illuminate key issues in our study of the Internet’s contemporary impact on our politics. The third and final section revisits the themes with which the course began to reflect on the future of freedom in the digital age. Special attention will be given to the potential tradeoff between privacy rights and national security, as well as to the challenges of mediating international conflicts in cyberspace. 
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