First-Year Writing Seminar - American History (102-8-22)
Topic
The Romantic Computer
Instructors
Benjamin Charles Lindquist
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L05: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
Modern computers' capacity to converse and create seems far removed from Charles Babbage's calculating machines. Instead, generative AI and popular notions like "the singularity" recall the romantic tradition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. As this spirit of romanticism increasingly colors our view of technology, we need to revise our understanding of computing's past. Using methodological approaches drawn from across the humanities, this interdisciplinary seminar will investigate aspects of digital history that do not fit neatly into a genealogy of logical machines. By discussing topics—such as internet cults, chatbot sentience, and the AI apocalypse—we will ask how computers came to inhabit their current cultural position. Instead of viewing computing as logic materialized, we will ask how the body, religion, and art became agents of technological change.
Learning Objectives
Seminar participants will critically examine the historical narratives and cultural interpretations that shape our understanding of contemporary computing. In so doing, students from different disciplines will gain a nuanced understanding of categories like "rationality" and how it intersects with our digital world.
Evaluation Method
Class participation, short essays
Class Attributes
WCAS Writing Seminar