HHS 312: Technology & Society in America
Schedule, Reading List, & Assignments:
The schedule and assignments are subject to change during the semester. If you rely on a printed version of this schedule, please check back here regularly to make sure you have the most current version.
Last revised: April 21, 2009
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| Date | Topic | Reading Assignment | Assignment |
| Monday 1/19 | No Class - Martin Luther King Jr. Day | ||
| Tues 1/20 | Introduction | ||
| Monday 1/26 | The Obama Inauguration | Transcript (text & video) Commentary on Obama's Prose |
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| Tues 1/27 | What is Technology? | Smith & Clancey, Chapter 1 | |
| Thurs 1/29 (MONDAY SCHEDULE) | Contact, Conquest, and the Early Republic | Smith & Clancey, Chapters 2 & 3 See also: "The 'War on Science' is Over. Now What?" |
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| Monday 2/2 | The First Industrial Revolution | Smith & Clancey, Chapter 4 |
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| Tues 2/3 | Factory Labor | Smith & Clancey, Chapter 5 See also: Links for research |
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| Monday 2/9 | The American System of Manufactures | Selections from Hounshell, From American System to Mass Production; Rosenberg, "Technological Change in the Machine Tool Industry, 1840-1910" (Both on WebCT) | |
| Tues 2/10 | 19th Century Networks | Readings page | |
| Monday 2/16 | No Class - Presidents' Day | ||
| Tues 2/17 | Taylorism and Scientific Management | Smith & Clancey, Chapter 8 | |
| Weds 2/18 (MONDAY SCHEDULE) | Fordism and World Power | Smith & Clancey, Chapter 9 | Essay Topics Due |
| Monday 2/23 | The Engineering Profession | Selections from Layton, Revolt of the Engineers (WebCT) | |
| Tues 2/24 | Technology & Ideology in the Early 20th Century | Jamison, "American Anxieties: Technology and the Reshaping of Republican Values" (WebCT) | |
| Monday 3/2 | Recap: The Second Industrial Revolution | Essay #1 Due | |
| Tues 3/3 | Midterm Exam | ||
| Monday 3/9 | No Class - Spring Break | ||
| Tues 3/10 | No Class - Spring Break | ||
| Monday 3/16 | Medical Technologies | Hughes, "Losing Touch" (WebCT); "How to Make Electronic Medical Records a Reality" | Midterm Due |
| Tues 3/17 | The Physicists' War | Vannevar Bush and "Science the Endless Frontier" | |
| Monday 3/23 | Sputnik Shock | Film: Sputnik Mania | |
| Tues 3/24 | Sputnik Shock (II) | ||
| Monday 3/30 | The Military-Industrial-Academic Complex | Smith & Clancey, Chapter 12 | |
| Tues 3/31 | SAGE & Atlas | Hughes, 3-14, 15-68, and 69-140 | |
| Monday 4/6 | Systems Engineering | Hughes, 141-196 | |
| Tues 4/7 | The Big Dig | Hughes, 197-254; See also Big Dig links |
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| Monday 4/13 | Arpanet and Internet | Hughes, 255-300; Smith & Clancey, Chapter 13 |
Essay 2 Topic Due |
| Tues 4/14 | Who "invented" the Internet? | Al Gore "invented the Internet"; and "A Little History of the WWW" |
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| Monday 4/20 | The "Third Industrial Revolution" and "Postmodern Systems" | Hughes, 301-307 | Essay 2 Outline Due |
| Tues 4/21 | The Pest War | Smith & Clancey, Chapter 11 Links: Chemicals and Food |
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| Monday 4/27 | Truths and Persuasion: Climate Change | Climate Change links (readings with ** are required) |
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| Tues 4/28 | History and Policy: Past, Present, and Future | Hart, "Herbert Hoover's Last Laugh"; Browse John Holdren publications |
Essay 2 Final Essay Due |
Take Home Exam Due |
Exam posted on WebCT |
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