STS 257-H01 Fall 2009

Rob Friedman
331Cullimore Hall
(973) 596 5765

  
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Course Overview

This course begins with a pair of propositions: that material culture results when creativity and innovation flourish, and that the interaction of technology and culture -- aesthetic, political, economic and material -- derives from individual creativity. You will read and discuss one perspective on this proposition, then some of the most widely read articles from the STS discipline's flagship journal, Technology and Culture. Mid-semester, we look to the issue of product obsolescence before turning to television to understand its development and the proposition that it is a dead technology. We conclude the semester with a series of team presentations that reflect your understanding of our contemporary American technological culture.

CALENDAR

Week & Text
Wednesday
Friday
Week 1P 9/02 Introduction 9/04 ix-51
Week 2 P/TAH 9/09 53-111 9/11 1-27
Week 3 TAH 9/16 45-77 9/18 105-127
Week 4 TAH 9/23 165-195 9/25 197-215
Week 5 TAH 9/30 239-269 10/2 271-300
Week 6 TAH 10/07 301-320 10/09 321-343
Week 7 MTB 10/14 1-27 10/16 29-55
Week 8 MTB 10/21 57-81 10/23
Week 9 MTB 10/28 83-113 10/30 115-149
Week 10 MTB 11/04 151-185 11/06 188-281
Week 11 T 11/11 1-76 11/13 77-111
Week 12 T 11/18 113-154 11/20 155-181
Week 13 T 11/25 Team Presentations Thanksgiving Break
Week 14 12/02 Team Presentations 12/04 Team Presentations
Week 15

12/09 Team Presentations and
Exam Review
Final Exam 12/11-12/17 To be announced

 
 
 
 

REQUIRED TEXTS
Cutcliffe and Reynolds, eds. Technology and American History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. ISBN: 0-226-71028-9

Gold, Rich. The Plenitude: Creativity, Innovation and Making Stuff. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 2007. ISBN: 0-262-07289-0

Magoun, Alexander B. Television: The Story of a Technology. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009. ISBN: 0-8018-9072-1

Slade, Giles. Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 2006. ISBN: 0-67402-572-5

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
There will be two position papers, a team presentation and a final exam. You will also be responsible for attending class (no more than three absences), peer reviewing one of your classmate's position papers, and posting one question about the assigned reading before every class.

GRADING
Assessment formula:
Two position papers: 20% each
Team presentation: 20% each
Class participation: 10%
Final exam: 30%

Late papers will be penalized of one half letter grade per day late. Revisions accepted up to one week after receiving graded work back from me; since there will be comments and corrections made with “track changes” enabled, revisions should be made on the same file, with comments and changes visible (do not "accept" changes and then save).