Culture & Technology (C&T)

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| ARM: Archives & Records Management | C&T: Culture & Technology | CIPS: Critical Information Policy Studies | HCDS: Human Centered Data Science | ISD: Information Systems & Design | KMIM: Knowledge Management & Information Management | LIS: Library & Information Science | UXD: User Experience Design |

C&T Concentration liaison: Prof. Alan Galey

C&T concentration overview |  Requirements | Suggested electives | Careers in Culture & Technology |

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Culture and technology are inextricably linked. The Culture & Technology concentration prepares graduates for information professions that require a culturally informed understanding of technology, and a technologically literate understanding of cultural objects, industries, and practices. Students in this concentration take courses that draw from the humanities, arts, and relevant parts of the social and computing sciences to take up vital roles at the intersections of culture and technology.

Coursework prepares graduates to become leaders, knowledge translators, intellectually independent critics, and creative practitioners in different roles at the intersection of culture and technology. Graduates will be able to draw on historical and cultural knowledge to navigate technological changes and their social implications. Topics explored in C&T courses include artificial intelligence and creativity, science and technology studies, the digital humanities, design and accessibility, reading and writing technologies, theory and critique, new media, culture industries, and online communities. Two C&T-specific studio courses taken in the first year place practical, hands-on work front and centre in the C&T curriculum, and serve as a central, keystone experience in which students develop their own research projects.

Overall, this concentration’s emphasis on culture, history, and creative/critical practices in courses gives C&T graduates the practical and theoretical knowledge they need to work in settings that are increasingly defined by change.

Students who have successfully completed the requirements of the Culture & Technology concentration will be able to:

• appraise fundamental concepts, theories, and practices from diverse disciplines exploring the intersection of information, culture, and technology to creatively anticipate, navigate, and strategize technological change in applied contexts;
• identify and assess the importance of cultural forms, literacies, and practices in diverse contexts and apply that knowledge in leadership and translation roles at the intersections of culture and technology;
• engage emergent forms of making, creative practice, and communication in a variety of material formats, and situate those interventions within changing media environments and cultural discourses;
• situate technological changes within a broad historical context and evaluate their cultural implications.

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Concentration requirements (2024 and later)

Year 1 required courses:

• INF 1501H: Introduction to Culture & Technology
• INF 1511H: Culture & Technology Studio I (Fall term)
• INF 1512H: Culture & Technology Studio II (Winter term)

Year 2 required courses:

• INF 2243H: Histories of Information Technologies
• INF 2321H: Digital Culture (Winter term)
• Either INF 2331H: The Future of the Book or INF 2320H: Remix Culture or INF 2228H: The Future of Things

Students may take any of the Year 2 courses in Year 1. Students are strongly encouraged to take the two Culture & Technology Studio courses, INF 1511H and INF 1512H, in the same academic year.

Electives:

• Complete remaining credit requirements by taking a combination of the following:
  • Elective courses, co-op option, thesis option, or collaborative specialization (5.0 credit)
  • Take a look at our suggested electives

Concentration requirements (2023 and earlier)

Year 1 required courses:

• INF 1005H: Information Workshop I (O.25 CR)
• INF 1006H: Information Workshop II (O.25 CR)
• INF 1501H: Culture & Technology I (0.5 CR)
• INF 2241H: Critical Making: Information Studies, Social Values and Physical Computing (0.5 CR)
• INF 2243H: Critical Histories of Information and Communication Technologies (0.5 CR)
• Either INF 2331H: The Future of the Book (0.5 CR) or INF 2320H: Remix Culture (0.5 CR)

Year 2 required courses:

• INF 1502H: Culture and Technology II (0.5 CR)

Electives:

• Complete remaining credit requirements by taking a combination of the following:
  • Elective courses, co-op option, thesis option, or collaborative specialization (5.0 credit)
  • Take a look at our suggested electives

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Careers in Culture & Technology

Students looking to engage in hands-on experience, widen their professional network and engage in professional development should connect with our Careers Services. The Faculty of Information offers a variety of work-integrated learning opportunities such as: MI Co-op option, practicum, Toronto Academic Libraries Internship Program (TALint), job shadowing, and ask-an-alum.

We encourage our students to engage widely in various professional circles and broaden your horizons beyond disciplinary boundaries. Our students, alumni and faculty are members of many professional associations. Our strong ties, built over many years, with these institutions keep us all abreast of the latest trends in the industries. Throughout the year, you may find representatives and members of these associations taking active roles in assisting our students by providing relevant industry insights and networking opportunities. Please visit our Student Experience & Life page on student councils, clubs and associations that our students engage and participate actively in.

With the rapid proliferation of technology and its pervasiveness into everyday lives, a profound examination of the influence of technology on our socio-economic behaviour is increasingly needed now and in the future. From cultural institutions to media, technology firms, government, and other types of organizations, these professionals are paving the way for new careers options.

Who Hires C&T Graduates?

Our alumni work in a wide range of organizations and industries, including: financial services, technology, health care, law, government, marketing and communications, non-profit and more.

Sample employers include: City of Toronto, CreativeWorks Marketing, MacLaren McCann, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Public Service, Rogers Communications, SiteScout, among others.

Sample roles include:

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