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OFFICE HOURS: 10:30-11:30 Mon. & Wed., and by appointment This course focuses on the question: "How does technology change in history?" While this issue could be framed using a number of different perspectives, we shall use one particular point of view--the development of technology in "the West" since the Middle Ages. By the West, we are referring to Europe and the areas settled by Europeans after the 15th century, particularly North America. It must be noted that this limits the geographical reach of this course severely, and leaves out many interesting and important issues that might be addressed concerning technological developments elsewhere in the world. Likewise, by choosing to concentrate on only the last 1000 years, we leave behind fascinating developments and questions that take us all the way back to the emergence of our species--which, as "Homo Sapiens," is arguably defined by the creation of technology itself. But it will be seen that we have a very large and complex subject and the focus that we have will give us much to work with. This course will explore a particular thesis, or mode of organizing and explaining technological change in our period. This thesis, what I call "the Culture of Improvement," is only one way of approaching the subject, and one of the purposes of the course is to examine the usefulness of this approach. Think of this, if you will, as the exploration of a theory of technological change, although remember that such "theories" in history do not have the same status or use as a true scientific theory. Another
unusual feature of this year's course is the use of an work by
the professor (to be published next year by MIT Press) as the course's primary
reading. Indeed, to some degree, this course
will be conducted less as a lecture course and more in the manner of a scholarly
book seminar. For most classes,
students will be expected to read carefully a draft chapter of this work
in progress (A Culture of Improvement; Technology and the Western Millennium). After
reading each chapter, students are expected to come to class prepared to
address the chapter's primary themes, to ask questions regarding matters
that need clarification or expansion, and to discuss the sources, methods,
and approaches represented by that chapter. Participation
in class is an important aspect of this course (and is reflected in the final
grading). Additional assignments through the semester include the following: (1) Preparation of a book study, based on the sources used in chapters 2 through 9. This study will require each student to select a book used as a major source in one of these 8 chapters, to read this work, and to prepare a report, 5 to 7 pages in length, that describes the key themes of the book, the most important sources (particularly primary sources), and how the book contributes to understanding the key themes of the course. This assignment is due in class on October 3 . (2) Preparation of an artifact study, based on materials discussed in chapters 9 through 18. You will need to nominate an artifact—a specific technology represented by a material object—for your study and submit this to the instructor on October 10 . Your study will consist of a 5 to 7 page paper that incorporates useful images of the artifact, a discussion of how it functioned, and how it was developed and improved in the time period you wish to focus on. This study will need to be well-documented by the use of at least three library (in addition to any relevant internet) sources. The completed study is due on November 2. (3) Preparation of a source study, based on the topics covered in chapters 18 through 25, or on some other suitable 20th century subject. This paper (again, about 5 to 7 pages) will focus on study of a primary source that illuminates further a topic in the history of modern technology. A primary source may be a patent, an article written by an inventor or promoter, correspondence or memoirs of an important figure, or some other document that represents the kind of sources used for original research in the history of technology. There are some very important archives and special collections here on campus (in such areas as historic structures and early broadcasting), and the greater Washington area possesses the richest trove of such materials in the United States. Students are encouraged (but not required) to seek advice from the instructor on the suitability of their choice of subject. The project is due November 30 ; students will be asked to share their results with the class the following week. GRADES will be based on the following:
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An Information Revolution: Printing, the Arts, and the Technological Imagination |
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The Proliferation of Things: Mass Production and Mass Consumption |
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Nov.30 |
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Last modified Wednesday, July 25, 2003 �� 2003 University of Maryland |