The Digital Age

Why this course?

Globalised corporate growth continues to be an unchecked force that unleashes extraordinary impacts on our entangled world. In recent years, evidence of this has only intensified. What is the true cost of the economic system operating in its current form? What does it mean if corporations flourish while we see this rise of wealth inequality, depleted ecosystems and exploited communities?

For most of us, the absurdity of it all is clear as day. What remains a mystery is what we can do to reclaim power and control in the context of globalised capitalism. The tools available to us seem incomparable to the scale of the problem, especially with the continuing, rapid evolution of technology, that seems to only entrench the current system.

How can we chart a path forward when the system we seek to change is so complex? How can we reclaim power and control, if we don’t even know how the system really works?

In this six-week course, we’ll take a critical and in-depth look at where we find ourselves to better understand the lines along which power is operating in this age. We seek to demystify who and what controls us, and the throughlines between the worlds of agriculture, healthcare, finance, technology, in the context of colonialism and capitalism. We explore the story that it’s all connected, that these worlds all follow the same logic of power and control.

Unravelling this story will then open up paths towards reclaiming our personal and communal agency.

Taught by some of the world’s leading pioneers, activists and educators—many of whom have played a vital role in changing laws, transforming systems and creating meaningful impact across generations—this course will take you on a journey of critical learning.

Together, we’ll map out the leverage points within our current systems of power, and explore the practical and personal ways in which we can join our efforts to create a more flourishing future for all.

We will open the course with the intention of understanding how systems really work. Traversing the global food system, the elusive world of finance and banking, Big Pharma and philanthropy, and more, we will dive deep into how wealth is accumulated, how money influences it all, and who pulls the strings behind the everyday systems we’re all embedded in. Then, we turn our attention to the augmented digital age, and seek to understand how the same principles and powers govern this age, too. Here, we unravel digital capitalism, deconstructing technology and exploring the politics of emerging technologies, and how they are transforming how we perceive ourselves and our relationships.

The second part of the course asks: what could reclaiming power and control look like in the digital age? In a world where entire structures and systems reinforce those who have power and control, how can we truly seek sovereignty, with and for each other? We will look at the mammoth tasks of creating capacities and building collective agency through civic infrastructure, learning from those who are in this space. Finally, we will navigate towards flourishing futures through rewriting stories. How can we reimagine humanity, body, and myth, in this age and beyond?