This course will engage students in a critical examination of contemporary philosophical issues as depicted in the television series "Black Mirror." By pairing episodes with philosophical discussions and texts, students will gain a deeper understanding of topics such as ethics, technology, identity, and human nature.

Students will be expected to watch each episode before the corresponding class discussion. Classes will include a mix of lecture and discussion, and students will be invited to offer their interpretations of the episode.

Each episode will be paired with at least one reading selection on a philosophical issue. Students should review these readings prior to the second class of each week. Some of them may be difficult, however, and the amount of time that a student spends on any given reading is ultimately up to that student.

The schedule of classes is as follows:


Week 1: "Be Right Back"
Episode Description: A woman uses a service to create a digital and then physical replica of her deceased boyfriend.
Readings: 
- "Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other" by Sherry Turkle

Week 2: "White Bear"
Episode Description: A woman wakes up with amnesia, finding herself in a world where she is constantly pursued by attackers while others film her.
Readings:
  - "Punishment" by H.L.A. Hart discusses the justifications for punishment, relevant to the episode's theme of societal justice.
  - "Discipline and Punish" by Michel Foucault offers a critique of modern penal systems, questioning the ethics of the punishment depicted in the episode.

Week 3: "Nosedive"
Episode Description: In a society where people rate each other after every interaction, one woman becomes obsessed with improving her social score.
Readings:
  - "The Society of the Spectacle" by Guy Debord discusses how social life becomes a spectacle, relevant to the episode's critique of social media.
  - "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr explores the cognitive effects of the internet, offering a different perspective on technology's impact on society.

Week 4: "San Junipero"
Episode Description**: Two women meet in a virtual reality where the elderly can live young again and the dead can live digitally forever.
Readings: 
  - "Mortal Questions" by Thomas Nagel discusses the limits of subjective experience, questioning whether digital life can truly replicate human experience.

Week 5: "Hang the DJ"
Episode Description: In a world with a dating system that dictates the length of relationships, two people begin to question the system's infallibility.
Readings:
  - "Love's Knowledge" by Martha Nussbaum questions the limits of algorithmic love, offering a counterpoint to the episode's faith in technology.

Week 6: "Metalhead"
Episode Description: A woman is relentlessly pursued by a killer robotic dog in a post-apocalyptic world, raising questions about the ethics and dangers of autonomous technology.
Readings:
- "Our Final Invention" by James Barrat