McLuhan’s The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man acts as inspiration for this year’s (2018/19) investigation of machinic logics in culture. Evolving from last year’s considerations in MsUnderstanding Media, the series asks what it looks like if we don’t believe the hype?

Delving into smart cities, data justice, robots + AI, hard + soft ware, quantified selfhood, alternative sensory experiences, and militaristic media, it raises questions: What is the consensual narrative of the “tech bro” today? What are the implications of this folklore on how we both understand and act in our day-to-day lives? What is the promise and where is it not being kept? How do we use technology to upend the machinic logics of the Mechanical Bro?

The Monday Night Seminars carry on the tradition of Marshall McLuhan’s public seminars at the University of Toronto. They are designed to challenge prevailing cultural notions about technology and provoke new insight on the possibilities for a more equitable technological future.

All seminars take place in the same intimate Coach House setting where McLuhan once held court. In this up-close and personal environment, a range of thinkers: academics, activists, scientists, artists, designers, and planners will explore digital culture.