FF:CORE101 In the mesh of nature and arti - Course Information

CORE101 In the mesh of nature and artificial intelligence

Extent and Intensity

2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).

Teacher(s)

doc. Mgr. Petr Bubeníček, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Tereza Dědinová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Zuzana Fonioková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Miroslav Kotásek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Jan Tlustý, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

doc. Mgr. Jan Tlustý, Ph.D.
Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts

Prerequisites

TYP_STUDIA(BM) && FORMA(P) && !(PROGRAM(B-CJ_) || OBOR(FBCJpV))
The course is open to students in the full-time Bachelor's and five-year Master's programmes, with the exception of the Czech Language and Literature programme.

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 100 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/100, only registered: 1/100, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/100

Course objectives

The position of the human being in the contemporary world is undergoing a radical transformation: the human world is fundamentally influenced by technologies that blur the boundaries between the "human" and the "inhuman", transform social and political realities, the relationship of the human being to himself and to others, and drag him onto uncertain ground that shakes the existing certainties. At the same time, however, there is uncertainty from another direction: we are living beings, dependent on the environment, and the uniqueness of (not only) human life is increasingly threatened by the accelerating environmental crisis.

The main aim of the course is to provide students of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences with insights into the unassimilable position of humans in the contemporary world, through the interpretation of selected literary works, as well as films and paintings. Texts will be read and interpreted that touch on 1) environmental issues, the ecological crisis, and man's relationship to nature, and 2) the changing social, political, and existential situation of man as a result of the accelerated development of science, technology, and artificial intelligence. Literature (and art more broadly) presents a unique opportunity to see our world " in another way", to ask new questions and to make visible connections that we are not normally aware of. Interpretations will also follow the discussions that are taking place in various academic fields about artificial intelligence and the ecological crisis and introduce students to their current findings.

Learning outcomes

The course will provide students of various humanities and natural sciences with significant knowledge applicable to further studies and will enable them to gain an awareness of the broader context of globally relevant issues, especially in the context of the ecological crisis and the development of technology or artificial intelligence. Knowledge of this non-trivial context will support their ability to seek non-standard solutions in their own fields and to become aware of the issues of implementing new knowledge and technologies with regard to the state of society.

Syllabus

• - Literature in our lives. How we read and why we read. Dr. Tlustý.
• - A journey into the world of trees (R. Powers - Overstory, P. Wohlleben). Dr. Tlustý.
• - Technology and artificial intelligence in the age of the world picture (M. Kundera, D. DeLillo, M. Heidegger). Dr. Tlustý.
• - Hope and environmental grief: visions of the future in climate fiction (S. Robinson, K. Eisele). Dr. Dědinová.
• - Artificial intelligence in literature and reality (A. Leckie, T. Chiang). Dr. Dědinová.
• - Science and the transformations of humanity: the novels of Kazuo Ishiguro. Dr. Fonioková.
• - Posthuman: where to find it and how to care for it. Dr. Kotásek.
• - Artificial intelligence: oxymoron, marketing, dream and reality (science fiction and cyberpunk in literature, N. Stephenson, R. Kurzweil). Dr. Kotásek.
• - Ecological and social collapse in the film sequel Blade Runner 2049. Doc. Bubeníček.
• - Artificial intelligence: at the crossroads of technology and humanity (K. Čapek - R.U.R., TV series Humans). Doc. Bubenicek.
• - Environmentalism in Contemporary Art. Mgr. Lungová.

Literature

• ČAPEK, Karel. Bílá nemoc (Přít.) : Loupežník ; R.U.R. : rossum's universal robots ; Bílá nemoc [Čapek, 1988] : R.U.R. ; Bílá nemoc ; Matka [9136]. info
• STEPHENSON, Neal. Kryptonomikon. Praha: Argo, 2021.
• ISHIGURO, Kazuo. Klára a Slunce. Translated by Alena Dvořáková. První vydání. Praha: Argo, 2022, 341 stran. ISBN 9788025738610. info
• LOVELOCK, James. Novacén : nadcházející věk hyperinteligence. Translated by Jan Prokeš. První vydání. Brno: Host, 2022, 148 stran. ISBN 9788027511532. info
• WOLF, Maryanne. Čtenáři, vrať se : mozek a čtení v digitálním světě. Translated by Romana Hegedüsová. První vydání. Brno: Host, 2020, 262 stran. ISBN 9788027500116. info
• POWERS, Richard. Stromy znamenají svět. Translated by Vladimír Medek. Vydání první. Voznice: Leda, 2020, 527 stran. ISBN 9788073356422. info
• HARARI, Yuval N. Homo deus : stručné dějiny zítřka. Translated by Alexander Tomský - Anna Pilátová. Vydání první. Voznice: Leda, 2017, 431 stran. ISBN 9788073355029. info
• HEIDEGGER, Martin. Věk obrazu světa. 1. vyd. Praha: OIKOYMENH, 2013, 63 s. ISBN 9788072984909. info
• LOVELOCK, James. Gaia vrací úder : proč se Země brání a jak ještě můžeme zachránit lidstvo. Translated by Jindra Havlíčková. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 2008, 196 s. ISBN 9788020016874. info
• KUNDERA, Milan. Nesmrtelnost. Edited by Philippe Sollers. Vyd. 1. V Brně: Atlantis, 1993, 350 s. info

Teaching methods

A lecture accompanied by a discussion of selected literary texts or works of art.
Online support will also be created for the course in IS, which will include an interactive syllabus, teaching materials, discussion forums, etc. The teaching materials will include both scholarly and popular texts, and thus be accessible to a wide range of readers.

Assessment methods

The condition for obtaining the colloquium will be the submission of an essay (3-5 standard pages), to which students will receive feedback, and successful completion of the final test in IS.

Language of instruction

Czech

• Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  
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