In this course we will ask the question: “How does SIRI work, and what is it actually doing?”  Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a subfield of Artificial Intelligence that uses linguistic theory to attempt to provide more human centered ways to interact with a computer.  Students explore the relationships between data, information and knowledge while being introduced to programming in Python. Readings are drawn from fifty years of literature in philosophy, linguistics and computer science that addresses the nature of language and meaning. The question we will debate is  “Do computers know what they are talking about?”  Using an extensive set of coding resources, students experience the satisfaction of creating a computer program that focuses on issues they identify.  A major project is self-designed and can range from a language (text-based) game, to a literary creation, to a formal experiment in computational linguistics. This course fulfills the Integrative Course requirement of the Culture and Media major. [Tracks C, M, S]