Schedule

This schedule is tentative and subject to change. Please review it frequently. Changes will be discussed in class.

Week 1: August 29 and 31: Codes and Information

In-class

Week 2: September 5 and 7, (No Class September 3): Early Computing Machines, Part I

In-class

Primary Sources/Supplements

Assessment: Quiz I in D2L due on Friday

Week 3: September 10, 12, and 14: Early Computing Machines, Part II

  • Ceruzzi, Computing, Chapter 2 (23-48).
  • Hicks, Marie. Programmed Inequality: How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge in Computing. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2017. Intro and Chapter I (1-58). (ebook available from the library)

In-class

  • Slides
  • WRNS Brainstorming Document
  • Exhibit Planning on Women and Computing in WWII:Good exhibits introduce visitors to a topic about which they may have very little knowledge. The materials in the exhibit work together not only to share historical information, but also to help visitors begin to ask their own questions about the topic at hand and their own experience of the larger world. As such, each section of the exhibit needs to support the argument of the whole by asking, and trying to answer, related questions and showcasing artifacts, documents, stories, and biographical sketches to highlight multiple perspectives.Each member of the group is responsible for planning one section–think of it as a room dedicated to addressing one sub-question or sub-topic of the larger exhibit. Each section should be introduced by a tightly written paragraph that frames the questions that the section is hoping to answer and the argument that the materials combine to support. Each element in the section (artifact, person, document, etc.) should be carefully chosen and accompanied by a label that describes the element and its relevance to the section and the exhibit. Labels should be no more than 100 words. Each section should contain at least five elements.Elements should only appear once in the entire exhibit, so work with your group-mates to make your selections.
      • Groups:
    • Group 1: Almani, Case, Flack, Jankelovitz, Maksimovic, Regoni, Tilley, Wilson
    • Group 2: Avitia, Catcorarios, Gregor, Jasmin, Malkowicz, Renicker, Vacante
    • Group 3: Bakos, Culp, Harrington, Kim, Meston, Schwartz, Vincent
    • Group 4: Barton, Eurdekian, Heinemann, Koby, Mulcahy, Seydi, Walker
    • Group 5: Beck, Fazio, Hirons, Lambouris, Muradov, Smith, Weincek
    • Group 6: Bres, Felster, Phillips, Swanson, Wierda, Wooten

Primary Sources/Supplements

Assessment: Reading Reflection 1 due on Friday

Consider Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace’s work on calculating machines. Are their plans and discussions about the Analytical Engine justifiably identified by historians as clearly foreshadowing the potential of the electronic computer in the 20th Century? Why or Why not?

Week 4: September 17, 19, and 21: Who Computes?

In Class

  • Slides
  • Representation and Computing: Wikipedia:
    1. In groups of two, select a prominent man from our readings who has been a key figure in the history of computing. Go to the notes document for the day and add your selection and the names of the people in your group.
    2. Look up that person on Wikipedia.
    3. In the notes document, evaluate the quality of the entry: How extensive is it? What sources does it use? What does the editing history show you?
    4. Select a person from and underrepresented group to evaluate: (Women in Computing or African American Women in Computer Science or someone from the Nelson article list). Look up that person on Wikipedia.
    5. In the notes document, evaluate the quality of the entry: How extensive is it? What sources does it use? What does the editing history show you?
    6. Compare the two entries, and make research plan for improving the representation on Wikipedia of underrepresented groups in computing.

Assessment: Quiz II in D2L due on Friday

Week 5: September 24 and 26 (No class September 28): Software

Primary Sources/Supplements

In Class

Assessment: Reading Reflection 2 due on Friday

Who computes? How does considering this question change our understanding of the history of computing?

Week 6: October 1, 3, and 5: Personal Computers

In Class

Primary Sources/Supplements

Assessment: Quiz III in D2L due on Friday

Week 7: October 8, 10, and 12: The Internet and Browser Wars

Primary Sources/Supplements

In Class

Week 8: October 15 and 17 (No class on October 19): Mid-term Exam

  • Mid-term Review (Monday): In groups, build a mid-term: 10 multiple choice questions and 7 short identifications.
    • Group A: Almani, Avitia, Bakos, Eurdekian, Beck, Bres
    • Group B: Case, Catecorarios, Culp, Heinemann, Fazio, Felster
    • Group C: Flack, Gregor, Harrington, Koby, Hirons, Phillips
    • Group D: Jankelovitz, Jasmin, Kim, Mulcahy, Lambouris, Swanson
    • Group E: Maksimovic, Malkowicz, Meston, Seydi, Muradov, Wierda
    • Group F: Regoni, Renicker, Schwartz, Walker, Smith, Wooten
    • Group G: Tilley, Vacante, Vincent, Weincek, Wilson, Hopkins
  • Mid-term (Wednesday, October 17)

Week 9: October 22 and 24 (No class on October 26): Open Access, Open Source

In Class

Assessment: Quiz IV in D2L due on Friday

Week 10: October 29, 31, and November 2: Copyright, Music, Media, and Regulation

In Class

  • Slides
  • Some additional resources on Net Neutrality:
  • Positions on Net Neutrality Regulations: Spend some time in your groups researching and developing a coherent statement of the position most likely to be held by your entity. (20 minutes)
    1. Comcast: Almani, Avitia, Bakos, Eurdekian, Beck, Bres
    2. Netflix: Case, Catacora Rios, Culp, Heinemann, Fazio, Felster
    3. Local ISP: Flack, Gregor, Harrington, Koby, Hirons, Phillips
    4. Independent Newspaper: Jankelovitz, Jasmin, Kim, Mulcahy, Lambouris, Swanson
    5. Internet startup: Maksimovic, Malkowicz, Meston, Seydi, Muradov, Wierda
    6. Federal Communications Commission: Regoni, Renicker, Schwartz, Walker, Smith, Wooten
    7. Wikileaks: Tilley, Vacante, Vincent, Weincek, Wilson, Hopkins
  • Debate: Share your positions based on your entities (1 minute pitch) and debate a bit with one another about the merits of your points of view. (15 minutes)
    • Group A: Almani, Case, Flack, Jankelovitz, Maksimovic, Regoni, Tilley, Wilson
    • Group B: Avitia, Catacora Rios, Gregor, Jasmin, Malkowicz, Renicker, Vacante
    • Group C: Bakos, Culp, Harrington, Kim, Meston, Schwartz, Vincent
    • Group D: Barton, Eurdekian, Heinemann, Koby, Mulcahy, Seydi, Walker
    • Group E: Beck, Fazio, Hirons, Lambouris, Muradov, Smith, Weincek
    • Group F: Bres, Felster, Phillips, Swanson, Wierda, Wooten

Assessment: Reading Reflection 3 due on Friday

Make a case in favor of or against open access, open source software, or net neutrality, based on historical precedent.

Week 11: November 5, 7, and 9: Corporate Control; Search and Access

  • Vaidhyanathan, Siva, The Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry) Updated Edition (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011) Introduction and Chapter I (1-50). (ebook available from the library)
  • Noble, Safiya U. Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (New York: NYU Press, 2018) Introduction and Chapter I (1-63). (ebook available from the library)

Primary Sources/Supplements

In Class

Assessment: Quiz V in D2L due on Friday

Week 12: November 12, 14, and 16: Social Media and Privacy

In Class

Assessment: Reading Reflection 4 due on Friday

How do historically established stereotypes infuse the ways that commercial services organize information on the web? Are there parallel historical events that might provide some guidance on how to frame this issue for a public user? How? What steps would you council to make these perspectives more clear to a casual user who may see digital technologies as objective and value neutral? Draw on your group search experiment from Week 11 to shape your reflection.

Week 13: November 19  (No Class November 21 and 23): Expansion joint

Week 14: November 26, 28, and 30: Video Games

Primary Sources/Supplements

In Class

Week 15: December 3, 5, and 7: Digital Preservation (No Class Monday)

In Class

Final Exam: December 11 (3:00-5:00pm) in 318 Berkey Hall