Stevens Institute of Technology
College of Arts & Letters

SPRING 2012
Wednesday, 9:15 am - 11:50 am
Classroom: Babbio 110

Link to Schedule, Reading List, and Assignments

Course Description: 

This course examines the development of American industrial society from the Revolutionary era to the early 21st century. We will pay special attention to the ways that Americans built, used, and thought about industrial technology in a variety of settings and contexts. Topics include manufacturing in the early republic, utopian and dystopian visions of technology, the emergence of professional engineering in the late 19th century, American industrial power in the mid-20th century, and claims that a "deindustrial" or "post-industrial" society emerged at the end of the 20th century. We will also emphasize the many local connections with industrialization, including the career of Frederick Winslow Taylor and Hoboken's industrial history.

Course and Program Objectives and Outcomes

Textbooks to purchase (available in the campus store):

John Kasson
Civilizing the Machine: Technology and Republican Values in America, 1776-1900
Hill and Wang, 1999
ISBN: 0809016206

Thomas P. Hughes
Human-Built World: How to Think about Technology and Culture
University of Chicago Press, 2005
ISBN: 0226359344

The remainder of the course readings will be available from the course website or on Moodle.

Writing & Communications Center:

The College of Arts & Letters maintains the Writing & Communications Center at Stevens in Morton 210. Their office hours are Monday-Friday, 11 am - 5 pm. You can stop in or make an appointment to get help with your papers, presentations, and all other work you do at Stevens. I have never had a student visit the WCC and come back with a lower grade on their assignment.

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 the Honor System in relation to your work in this 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. Angelica M. Diaz-Martinez, 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 and put away. Students may not use laptops or other computers (tablets, etc.) in class without my permission. You should stay awake at all times during class. 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, preparedness, and contributions to discussions) (30%)
• Research project (30%)
• mid-term essay (20%)
• final exam (20%)

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