History of American Technology (325-0-20)

Instructors

Ken Alder
847/467-4038
Harris Hall 307
Ken Alder is a historian of science and technology, who writes about the past, present, and future of our technological world. He has written a novel and three works of history fr both academic and general audiences.

Meeting Info

University Hall 101: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

We are currently living through a technological revolution that is radically transforming every aspect of our social, economic, and personal lives. But maybe this is nothing new. From the telegraph to social media, from the bicycle to electric vehicles, from typewriters to AI, Americans have long identified technological change as central to their personal and national destiny. This class deploys historical methods to answer core questions about the past, present, and future of technology. Do artifacts have politics? Is time accelerating? What counts as technological progress—and is it different this time around? To answer these questions, this course operates on a flipped-classroom model. In lectures, students learn how an entire social world can be illuminated by the study of an individual artifact. And in weekly workshop-sections, students are guided as they write an original research paper on the social history of an artifact of their choice. (Note, enrolled students get credit for a history distro/FD, Advanced Expression, and U.S. Perspectives).

Learning Objectives

• Object lesson #1: In lectures, students will learn how to read technological artifacts as reflecting broader patterns of American social life. Then, in weekly workshops, students will learn how to themselves research and write the social history of an artifact of their own choice following a well-honed template, conveyed by the instructor's Research and Writing Guide. • Object lesson #2: Students will learn how to analyze both material objects and primary-source accounts of technological innovations. They will do so by learning a range of theoretical approaches from systems theory and evolutionary theory to social construction and economic analysis. • Object lesson #3: Students will then learn how extend this historical understanding so as to better understand how technological change is shaping our contemporary world, right up to current developments like social media and AI.

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): Americas
History Minor Concentration(s): United States, Science and Technology

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for History and Business Institutions Program students.

Associated Classes

DIS - TBA: Thurs 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - TBA: Thurs 10:00AM - 10:50AM

DIS - TBA: Thurs 12:00PM - 12:50PM