‘Localising Philosophy, Democratising Technology’ is an educational project developed by Dr Dominic Smith (Philosophy) and Dr Anna Robb (Education). The aim of the project is to engage school pupils in sessions that foster critical literacy about the roles of technologies in everyday life.
The inspiration behind the project is a radio piece by the German philosopher Walter Benjamin called ‘The Railway Disaster at the Firth of Tay’. Broadcast in 1932, for schoolchildren in Frankfurt and Berlin, Benjamin’s piece takes up the Tay Bridge Disaster as a focus for a philosophical meditation on technology.
In February, Dominic took some time to talk about the project, for Pecha Kucha 26 at Dundee Rep. Watch the video below to find out 1.) how we can ‘localise’ philosophy, 2.) why we might want to, and 3.) why, now more than ever, we need to be thinking critically and creatively about technologies.