Fiction with a technology theme

[barchestergirl]

I'm teaching a course about the impacts of technology on society, which is based around films and books. I need to find fiction with an interesting take on this - it doesn't need to be sci-fi, as long some there is some interesting technology angle - stuff like what it means to be human (can robots feel?), what is the impact of the ability to monitor us all online - anything, really. I'd love a range of periods (e.g., Victorian (or earlier) take on the growing impact of technology right up to modern) and especially a variety of format - some poetry or plays would be great, as well as short stories and novels.

If anyone has any ideas of stuff to get the next generation thinking, let me know!

I loved Anathem too! Must re-read. Thanks Cote for reminding me.

Pretty much everything by william Gibson (especially Neuromancer) and Phillip K Dick.

For film what about Metropolis? 1927 film by Fritz Lang.

Also The Lathe of Heaven and Threshold by Ursula LeGuin.

Anne McCaffrey wrote a Short Story (Dull Drums?) about society & the impact of computers I think it was in 'Get off the Unicorn' a collection of her stories

Super Sad True Love Story would be ideal for this. Set in the nearish future it has quite a realistic portrayal of how things could be with tech, surveillance etc. Don't be put off by the title.

The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling is an alternate history novel based on the idea "What would the Victorian era be like if Babbage had succeeded in building his mechanical computer?"

Charles Stross' Halting State and its sequel Rule 34 are near-future novels where the technology is not that far advanced from what we have today. They explore the social issues and new crimes that may result from that advance.

Prey by Micheal Crichton in which microbots go rogue. See the Amazon reviews.

What about that Sandra Bullock film where all trace of her identity went? You didn't say it had to be quality .

The Circle by Dave Eggers- I'm reading it at the moment it's kind of like a 1984 for the modern generation, about an all-poweful company called The Circle, which is like google/facebook/twitter/amazon etc combined. It's fascinating!