Stevens Institute of Technology
College of Arts & Letters
Program in History

SPRING 2009
Monday and Tuesday, 1:00 - 2:15 pm
Classroom: Pierce 220

Link to Schedule, Reading List, and Assignments

Course Description and Goals:  

This course explores technology in American society from the colonial period to the present.  Several themes guide our inquiry: the uses of technology in the pastoral republic; the promises and perils of industrialization; the rise of the military-industrial-academic complex; persistent tensions between technological development and the natural world; the American system of innovation; and the causes and consequences of the “digital revolution” of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

This course seeks to advance the mission of the College of Arts & Letters in the following ways:

• Promote ethical responsibility and awareness of the societal impact of one’s future profession.
• Improve writing and/or public speaking skills.

Textbooks to purchase:

Merritt Roe Smith and Gregory Clancey, eds., Major Problems in the History of American Technology (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998).
ISBN: 0-669-35472-4

Thomas Parke Hughes, Rescuing Prometheus: Four Monumental Projects That Changed the Modern World (Vintage, 2004).
ISBN: 0-679-73938-6

Humanities Resource Center:

If you want assistance writing your papers, you should ask for help well ahead of the paper's due date. For more information, visit http://www.stevens.edu/wci.

Honor Board Policies:

You should by now be familiar with The Honor System at the Stevens Institute of Technology. It is your responsibility to uphold the ideals set forth in the Honor System Constitution. Specific student responsibilities include:

• Maintaining honesty and fair play in all aspects of academic life at Stevens;
• Writing and signing the pledge, in full, on all submitted academic work;
• Reporting any suspected violations to an Honor Board member or to the Dean of Student Development;
• Cooperating with the Honor Board during investigations and hearings.

If you ever have questions about how to interpret this honor system in relation to your work in my class, please get in touch with me.

Students with disabilities:

If you require special accommodations due to a disability, or if you need individual arrangements should the building be evacuated, you must inform the office of Student Counseling and Psychological Services, Dr. Terence Hannigan, Director, in the Howe Center, 7th floor (x5177), and complete the Faculty Contact Form. Once you have done so, you should ask to meet with me so that we can work out any special arrangements that may be necessary.

Grades and Course Policies:  

Attendance is mandatory. Any absences must be accounted for by notifying me before the start of class. Otherwise I will need verification from an outside authority (i.e., doctor, coach, another professor) explaining why it was necessary for you to miss class. Cell phones should either be turned off or silenced. Computers can be used for note-taking purposes only. Any students in violation of these simple rules will be marked as absent for that particular class.

Grades will be based on the following criteria:

• class participation (including attendance and activity in discussions) (20%)
  • each student is expected to lead one class session during the semester
• two essay assignments (30%)
• mid-term exam (20%)
• final exam (30%)

Percentages are approximate. I will determine final weights at the end of the course. I reserve the right to give pop quizzes.

Link to Schedule, Reading List, and Assignments