What is Community? Making Sense of Social Connection in a Disconnected World

*Taught Online for Summer 2021*  Why is social connection so important? What threatens our sense of relatedness to others? How can we thrive as social beings while spending so much time in front of screens? We will begin with a consideration of the meaning of human connection from the vantage points of Aristotle, Adam Smith, and the French sociologist Emile Durkheim. Through close readings of Marx, Freud, and Frankfurt School theorists Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, we will next investigate factors that disrupt our ability to form meaningful relationships. We will conclude by looking ahead to new possibilities for reimagining our social fabric in the digital age.