Focusing on the rise of new technologies and the analogous ‘informationalisation’ of polity, society and economy the course aims to counter the naïve and simplistic analysis that ignores the geographical dimensions of cyberspace. Exploring the development of theories in academic discourse and science fiction literature this course will incorporate a retrospective and forward-looking evaluation of
the interaction between society and technology and its spatial consequences. Touching on many of the main strands of geographic inquiry the first set of lectures will attempt to ‘pin down’ the meanings of many of the phrases that have entered popular parlance, from Information Society to Cyberspace and the Knowledge economy. Thereafter, the course will be divided into sections dealing with the economic, political, cultural and urban/rural geographies of cyberspace. Key areas here will be the geography of economic development in the new age which will encompass case studies on the digital divide. Governance in a cyberspace without borders and the increase of the surveillance state will constitute another segment of the course. Literary geographies will be explored through reference to some seminal science fiction novels and films. While ‘cities of tomorrow’ and ‘rural disconnectedness’ will be the focus of the remaining lectures. DETERMINISM v REALITY: Cities of tomorrow and cities of today
