– Examine various concepts and properties of being – such as memory, consciousness, physical integrity, sentience, etc. – portrayed in fiction and philosophical/critical texts, and understand how they may contribute to, contradict, or shape our own perception of being in relation to technological apparatuses
– Discuss how various forms and experiences of being that involve cognitive and bodily extension, alteration, or fusion such as artificial intelligence, cyborgs or genetically engineered entities may confirm or change our understanding of being
– Understand the effects of form, medium-specific characteristics, and narrative strategies employed in the text
– Develop critical skills to situate and comprehend the texts within the social and historical rubrics from which they were conceived and are currently consumed