Schedule & Readings
Books and Materials
Ceruzzi, Paul E. Computing: A Concise History. MIT Press, 2012.
Postman, Neil. Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. New York: Vintage, 1992.
Sloan, Robin. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. New York: Picador, 2013.
Class Schedule
When a text is marked (pdf), a version is available in Sakai under Resources.
| Dates | Monday | Wednesday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit I: The Problem of Information | |||
| 28-30 Aug. | NO CLASS on Monday | Introductions and Course Theme. Practice Annotation Assignment on What Would Plato Say About ChatGPT? | Make a Stop Sign. O’Donnell, “From the Codex to the Homepage” (pdf). Excerpt from Phaedrus (pdf). |
| 2-6 Sept. | NO CLASS on Monday | Sloan, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (pgs. 1-48, through Stranger in a Strange Land). David Weinberger, Everything is Miscellaneous (pdf). | Build a Book. Penumbra (pgs. 49-122, to the end of Part I, The Bookstore). |
| 9-13 Sept. | Penumbra (pgs. 123-202, through The Dragon-Song Chronicles, Volume II). Carr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (pdf) | Penumbra (pgs. 202-288, to the end of the book) | Digitize a Text. “History, Digitized (and Abridged).” Vint Cerf: TEDx Talk |
| 16-20 Sept. | Vannevar Bush, “As We May Think.” Alex Wright, “The Secret History of Hypertext.” (pdf) | Lee, “A Patent Lie.” This American Life: “When Patents Attack: Part II.” | Send a Secret Message. Standage, “The Mother of All Networks” (pdf). |
| 23-27 Sept. | Computing: Introduction and Ch. 1 & 2. | Discussion/Research for Historical Essay. | Exam on Unit I |
| Unit II: Key Enabling Technologies | |||
| 30 Sept.-4 Oct. | Reid, “The Real Miracle” (pdf). | Computing: Ch. 3 & 4. | Learn Binary. Abbate, “Cold War and White Heat.” (pdf) |
| 7-11 Oct. | Bring your thesis statement! Computing: Ch. 5, 6, & 7. “Computer Visionary Who Invented the Mouse.” | Kirschenbaum, “Unseen Hands” (pdf). “Overlooked No More: Karen Sparck Jones, Who Established the Basis for Search Engines.” | HISTORICAL ESSAY I DUE. Peer Review and Revision Planning. |
| 14-18 Oct. | Planet Money: “When Women Stopped Coding.” “Sept. 24, 1979: First Online Service for Consumers Debuts.” | Historical Essay Conferences (by Appt.) | Historical Essay Conferences (by Appt.) |
| Unit III: Critical Reflection | |||
| 23-25 Oct. | NO CLASS (Fall Break) | Carr, “IT Doesn’t Matter” (pdf). | Try the Command Line. Adrien Chen, “The Agency.” HISTORICAL ESSAY II DUE |
| 28 Oct.-1 Nov. | Safiya Noble: TEDx Talk and Algorithms of Oppression pgs. 35-55 (pdf). (WARNING: This video is about the problem of racial stereotypes and misogyny and contains some graphic content) | Race After Technology, “The New Jim Code” (pdf). | Explore Search Engines. Lessig, “The Vision for the Creative Commons” (pdf pgs 36-49). Lessig: TED Talk. Browse Creative Commons website. |
| 4-8 Nov. | Postman, Introduction & Ch. 1. | Postman, Ch. 2 & 3. | Build Your Own Chatbot. Postman, Ch. 5 & 6. |
| 11-15 Nov. | Postman, Ch. 8 & 9. | AI and Privacy: You bring an article. | Exam on Units II & III. |
| Unit IV: Futurism (Past & Present) | |||
| 18-22 Nov. | “Virtual Chiat.” “Lost in Space.” “The Robots are Coming for Phil in Accounting.” Watch Transcendent Man in class. | “The Future Knocks Again.” Finish Transcendent Man. | Research/Discussion for Futurist Essay. |
| 25 Nov. | “What Is Code?” sections 2.1-2.4. | NO CLASS on Wednesday | NO CLASS on Friday |
| 2-6 Dec. | Chiang, “ChatGPT is a Blurry JPEG of the Web” (pdf). | Dzieza, “AI is a Lot of Work.” | Peer Review of Futurist Essay. |
| 9 Dec. | No Class Meeting: Optional Conferences on Futurist Essay |
| 14 Dec. 9am-Noon | FINAL EXAM PERIOD. No formal exam: FUTURIST ESSAY DUE BEFORE NOON |