Tom Standage: The Victorian Internet

Here is a link to the website of science writer Tom Standage, author of The Victorian Internet. Describing his account of the rise of telegraph technology, he writes:

"My first book, The Victorian Internet, was published in 1998 in Britain and North America (and has since been published in translation in Germany and South Korea). It points out the features common to the telegraph networks of the nineteenth century and the internet of today: hype, scepticism, hackers, on-line romances and weddings, chat-rooms, flame wars, information overload, predictions of imminent world peace, and so on. In the process, I get to make fun of the internet, by showing that even such a quintessentially modern technology actually has roots going back a long way..."

Syllabus for CAS HI 351: Technology & U.S. Popular Culture

CAS HI 351

R.S. Deese

Boston University

Spring 2008
Office Hours: F 2:30-5:30

226 Bay State Rd., Rm. 205

rsdeese@gmail.com

Technology and U. S. Popular Culture


This course will study the relationship between new technologies and U.S. popular culture from the roots of the American Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century to the explosion of the Internet and biotechnology at the dawn of the 21st century. Using such popular artifacts such as novels, exhibitions, advertisements, cinema, and propaganda, we will consider the evolving response of Americans, as both citizens and consumers, to the ceaseless revolutions in production, transport, communication, politics and domestic life wrought by the advent of new technologies. We will also attempt to understand how American culture may have shaped the evolution and proliferation these technologies themselves over the course of the past two centuries. In addition to considering the relationship between technology and culture, this course will further explore the different historical methods for understanding and explaining the role of technology in U.S. history.

Required Readings


PRIMARY SOURCES:


Donnelly - Caesar's Column, 03 (U New Eng) ISBN 978-0-8-1956666-9


Gernsback - Ralph 124C41+, 00 (U of NE) ISBN 978-0803270985


Gibson - Neuromancer, 00 (Peng USA) ISBN 978-0441007462


Huxley - Ape and Essence, 48 (NBN) ISBN 978-0-9-2958778-3



SECONDARY SOURCES:


Boyer - By the Bomb's Early Light, 94 (Longleaf) ISBN 978-0-8-0784480-9


Cohen - A Consumers' Republic, 03 (Random) ISBN 978-0-3-7570737-7


Dyson - The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet, 99 (OXF) ISBN 978-0-1-9513922-8


Kasson - Civilizing the Machine, 99 (VHPS) ISBN 978-0-8-0901620-4


Nye - The American Technological Sublime, 94 (Triliteral) ISBN 978-0-2-6264034-3



ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION: Regular attendance and full participation in class discussions are essential to success in this course. Please pay close attention to schedule of readings below and come to class prepared to discuss the assigned reading for each date listed. During the course of the semester, I will give three pop reading quizzes on dates to be arranged, and your cumulative score on these short exams will constitute approximately one third of your participation grade. If you must miss class due to a medical or family emergency please contact me immediately to discuss how to make up any missed lectures, discussions, and exams.


HISTORICAL METHODS PAPER: All students will be required to write a 12-15 pg. paper (approx. 3000 to 3750 words) that analyzes the approach of two different historians to a single historical subject. One of the books used for this paper should be a primary source from the course syllabus, while the other two books should be works of historical analysis that relate directly to the issues raised by that primary source. As these secondary sources are yours to choose, they may or may not come from the list of course readings. A 1-2 pg Prospectus (including a completed bibliography of sources) for this paper will be due in class on 3/18 and the paper itself will be due on 4/17.


MIDTERM & FINAL: The two exams given in this course will test your knowledge of both the lectures and the reading. Each exam will contain an I.D. and Essay section, and in each case the I.D. section will count for 40% of your exam grade while the Essay section will account for the remaining 60%. The Midterm will be given on March 6, and the Final will take place on May 5.




Basic Ground Rules:



1. Turn off all cell phones, MP3 players, etc. before all class meetings begin.


2. Always come on time to all class meetings, and participate in all discussions. Please don’t be shy about speaking up in class discussions, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Virtually all original scholarship begins by posing questions that others have overlooked or dismissed as simply not worth asking; therefore, the very question you might be afraid to ask because it seems naïve or unorthodox could well be the most interesting and groundbreaking question that anyone could raise. Don’t hesitate to ask it. Also, please remember that I am more than happy to field your questions and address your concerns via email, telephone, and during my regular office hours.


3. Always come to class prepared to discuss all readings for that week. When you do the assigned reading each week, be sure to underline passages that you see as important, and write down questions that you would like to raise in our section meetings and in my office hours.


Grade Breakdown:

Attendance & Participation: 20%

Midterm: 25%
Term Paper 25%
Final Exam 30%


HI 351 Schedule of Readings


Week One:


1/17: Kasson, Civilizing the Machine. ch. 1 pgs. 1-51


Week Two:


1/24: Kasson, Civilizing the Machine. chs. 2,3 pgs. 55-135


Week Three:


1/31: Kasson, Civilizing the Machine. chs. 4,5 pgs. 139-234



Week Four:


2/7: Nye, American Technological Sublime. chs. 1-4, pgs. 1-108


Week Five:


2/14: Nye, American Technological Sublime. ch 5, pgs. 109-142; Donnelly, Caesar’s Column (ALL)


Week Six:


2/21: Nye, American Technological Sublime. chs. 6-8, pgs.143-224;


Week Seven:


2/28: Gernsback, Hugo Ralph 124C41+ (ALL)


Week Eight:


3/4: Nye, American Technological Sublime. chs. 9-11, pgs. 225-296


3/6: MIDTERM EXAM


Week Nine:


SPRING RECESS


Week Ten:


3/18: PAPER PROSPECTUS DUE IN CLASS


3/20: Huxley, Aldous Ape and Essence (ALL), Boyer, Paul. By the Bomb’s Early Light. Parts 1-5, Pgs. 3-178.



Week 11:


3/27: Boyer, By the Bomb’s Early Light. Parts 6-7, pgs. 179-368.

Cohen, Lizabeth. A Consumers’ Republic. chs. 1-4 pgs. 18-192



Week 12:


4/3: Cohen, A Consumers’ Republic. chs. 5-8, pgs 194-398




Week 13:


4/10: Gibson, William Neuromancer (ALL)



Week 14:



4/15: Dyson, Freeman The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet (ALL)


4/17: HISTORICAL METHODS PAPER DUE IN CLASS



Week 15:


4/ 24: Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, Break Through selected pgs. (HANDOUT)


FINAL EXAM: 9AM, Friday May 9th