Margaret O’Mara lecture: 'The Human in the Technology'
125 Convocation Way, Longmire 110
About the Event
The FSU Humanities Center will sponsor a series of eight lectures during the academic year 2026-2027. The lectures represent a range of disciplinary specialties within the humanities. Lecturers will present research that is taking humanities scholarship in new directions, deepening disciplinary expertise while demonstrating how thinking across disciplines is advantageous to the broader project of the humanities. The center anticipates that these lively afternoon events will advance discussion about the role of the humanities in higher education, and especially as an enterprise that teaches students to think critically, acquire competence in one or more fields, and prepare them for the responsibilities and opportunities of citizenship.
All lectures are planned for Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. in Beth Moor Lounge in the Longmire Building, with receptions following from approximately 6-6:30 p.m. The lectures are free, open to the public, and do not require advance registration. For questions regarding the lecture series: humanities.center@fsu.edu.
Abstract
Over the past 250 years, waves of technological innovation — from the steam engine to Silicon Valley — have continually remade American society. They’ve created new industries, reordered labor, and raised profound questions about power, inequality and social relations. This lecture considers the human stories shaping this long arc of innovation, examining the values and presumptions of those who get to invent, the human labor and politics behind the machine, and the ways in which moments of technological transition have reminded Americans of what it means to be human.