Specialization in Critical Studies of Emerging Technologies

Who Is the Specialization For?

If you have completed a bachelor’s degree in the humanities, social sciences, law, or technological fields, and you find questions about new technologies to be critical to the present, yet feel that existing academic departments and disciplines do not fully engage with these issues—this specialization is for you.

If you work in the tech industry or are involved in the design and development of emerging technologies, this program will enrich your perspective on your field. Here, you will refine your critical lens and gain a deeper understanding of the broader implications of technological innovation. Sometimes, there comes a moment when one needs to step back from the fast-moving current—to see where the river is headed and where it originates, rather than being solely immersed in the next project, product, or launch deadline.

If you are an artist drawn to these themes and eager to explore the creative possibilities and challenges of emerging technologies, this specialization offers a space to deepen your artistic inquiry and critical engagement.

What Do We Study in the Specialization?

The Specialization in Critical Studies of Emerging Technologies explores fundamental questions such as: How do contemporary digital technologies shape society, culture, and human beings? What are the cultural, social, and philosophical dimensions of technological advancements? How can we examine them from a philosophical and critical perspective? Rather than accepting technological developments as an inevitable reality, we ask how these innovations reinforce or challenge existing systems of thought.

This specialization offers a critical and theoretical toolkit to engage with these pressing questions. It provides the theoretical foundations necessary for a deeper and more nuanced understanding of what is far more than mere technological change. It cultivates an informed and critical approach to the present and future of technology.

For example, the datafication of all aspects of human and social life, large-scale data mining and storage, and the use of algorithms for inference and decision-making do not exist in isolation from the cultural world—they both influence and are shaped by it in ways that require rigorous study. What often appears to be objective fact is, in reality, a reflection of broader trends, beliefs, and social ideologies, which, in turn, transform human society and individuals. This specialization focuses on the ethical, theoretical, cultural, social, and human dimensions of the technologies shaping our lives today.

Topics covered include: big data, algorithmic decision-making and recommendation systems, AI, surveillance technologies, facial recognition, self-driving cars, autonomous weapons, intimate algorithmic knowledge of individuals, non-human vision, contemporary media, social networks, smart cities, and AI-generated content. These technologies fundamentally alter human life and society, demanding critical and theoretical reflection.

Admission Requirements

✔ Minimum GPA of 85 in a bachelor's degree
✔ Submission of a short text outlining the applicant’s expectations and learning goals in the specialization
✔ Admission interview

All students must be enrolled in one of the two programs:

• Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies Program

• Science, Technology, and Society Program

Curriculum

The Specialization in Critical Studies of Emerging Technologies is a joint program between two leading graduate programs:

• The Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies Program

• The Science, Technology, and Society Program (STS)

Each student must choose under which program they wish to enroll. Students will be required to complete the core courses of their selected program, along with a joint seminar that integrates both programs.

Course Structure

• Elective Courses: A total of 20 credits (ECTS) in electives, with at least 8 credits and no more than 12 credits taken within the STS Program.

• Seminars: Among the elective courses, at least two must be taken as seminars (credit weight may vary, subject to instructor approval).

• Colloquium: Attendance at the general program colloquium is required until degree completion.

Credit Requirements

• 36 credits for students enrolled in the Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies Program.

• 40 credits for students enrolled in the STS Program.

These credits include:
✔ A joint specialization seminar (held on Tuesdays).
✔ A final capstone project workshop.
✔ A foundational theoretical course (one for Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies students; two for STS students).
✔ Dedicated seminars related to the specialization.
✔ Students may request to enroll in additional courses outside the department.

Program Duration & Schedule

The specialization is a two-year program.

• Shared courses are held on Tuesdays.

• Courses in the Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies Program take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

• Courses in the STS Program take place on Sundays.

Core Courses by Program

📌 Students in the Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies Program must take one of the following theoretical courses (4 credits):

• Theories of Culture: Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives

• Introduction to Critical Theories

• Theory and Critique: From Psychoanalysis to Posthumanism

📌 Students in the STS Program must take the following core courses (8 credits):

• Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society (4 credits)

• Philosophical Foundations for STS Students (4 credits)

Capstone Project & Research Options

✔ In the second year, students must enroll in the Capstone Project Workshop (4 credits). This group-based research project combines theoretical knowledge with practical, technological, or artistic applications.
✔ The program is non-thesis-based, but students may opt for a final project equivalent to a thesis.
✔ Students interested in transitioning to the thesis track or Ph.D. studies may do so, subject to admission requirements.

📌 Note: Students in the non-thesis M.A. track cannot proceed to a Ph.D. unless they transition to the research track and complete a thesis.

Additional Requirements

• Language Proficiency: English proficiency is required for the M.A., according to the Graduate School regulations.

• Jewish Studies Requirement: Students must fulfill Bar-Ilan University’s general Jewish Studies requirement for M.A. students, as per the Graduate School guidelines.

Courses

Students in the Specialization in Critical Studies of Emerging Technologies will take a wide selection of dedicated seminars, each addressing different aspects of the challenges and questions surrounding new technologies. The courses are taught by a large faculty team, whose research is deeply engaged with these topics.

In addition to specialized courses, students participate in a joint seminar for all specialization students, which features leading scholars from Israel and around the world. The specialization also includes a final capstone project course, where students develop research-based applied projects. The course offerings vary each year.

Courses for 2024/25 (Academic Year 5785)

✔ Colloquium (Mandatory for all specialization students)
✔ Algorithms and Humans: Subjectivity and Data (Prof. Liran Razinsky)
✔ Theory and Critique: From Psychoanalysis to Posthumanism (Prof. Liran Razinsky)
✔ Theories of Culture: Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives (Prof. Hizky Shoham)
✔ Interpretative-Cultural Methodology in the Humanities (Prof. Hizky Shoham)
✔ The Ontological Turn and Human-Animal-Plant-Matter Relations (Prof. Tamar El-Or)
✔ Digital Theories (Dr. Ella Klik)
✔ Against the Current: Resistance, Technology, and Neoliberalism (Dr. Ella Klik)
✔ Looking Ahead: Technology Theories, Cinema, and the Unknown (Dr. Ella Klik)
✔ Voices, Machines, and Subjects (Dr. Nadav Appel)

Selected Courses from Previous Years:

• Against the Current: Resistance, Technology, and Neoliberalism

• Digital Theories

• Looking Ahead: Technology Theories, Cinema, and the Unknown

• Algorithms and Humans

• Voices, Machines, and Subjects

• Listening to Voices: How to Conduct Research with the Ears

• Theories of Vision and Non-Human Perception

• Society of Algorithms and Data Subjects

• Techno-Optimism and Techno-Pessimism

• Screen Life: Medium and History

• History of Computation

• Technology and Consciousness

• Artificial Horizons: The Human Encounter with AI

• Regulating Artificial Intelligence

• Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI in STS Research and Applications

• People, Players, and Agents: From Aquinas to AI Agents

• Regulations, Frameworks, Principles, and Recommendations for ‘Ethical’ Algorithms

• Algorithmic Governance: Improve, Change, or Replace Society?

📌 Additional Course Options:
In addition to the specialization’s core courses, students may choose elective courses from the Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies Program and the Science, Technology, and Society Program.