Stevens Institute of Technology
College of Arts & Letters
Program in History

FALL 2009
Monday and Tuesday, 2:30 - 3:45 pm
Classroom: Burchard 430

Link to Schedule, Reading List, and Assignments

Course Description and Goals:  

Winston Churchill once said "We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us." The goal of this course is to apply Churchill's insight to understand the social aspects of computing. The course is divided into three parts, based on three questions: Where have we been? Where are we? and Where are we going? Topics will include the history of computers and the Internet, policy debates over the "openness" of computers and networks, and various cultural, economic, and ethical issues that arise at the intersections of computers and society.

HSS 371 has the following course goals:

• Enrich your understanding of the history of computing and networks.
• Think in greater depth about some ethical dilemmas of computing.
• Advance your knowledge of the significance of computers in contemporary culture and politics.

Specifically, HSS 371 seeks to advance the mission of the College of Arts & Letters in the following ways:

• Promote ethical responsibility and awareness of the societal impact of one’s future profession.
• Improve writing and/or public speaking skills.

Additionally, HSS 371 contributes to five of the outcomes for students in the Stevens BS in Computer Science:

• Write and present technical reports at a level expected of the software engineering profession.
• Know about ethical problems that face computer scientists and software engineers.
• Analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations and society.
• Exhibit an ability to think and argue critically on issues that are social, historical, literary and artistic;
  demonstrate a basic level of skills in communication and logical analysis.
• Define and use security models to abstractly describe security properties of computer and communication systems in the face of current, emerging, and potential threats.

Textbooks to purchase (available at the campus store):

Ted Friedman 
Electric Dreams: Computers in American Culture
NYU Press (2005)
ISBN-10: 0814727409

Pekka Himanen
The Hacker Ethic: A Radical Approach to the Philosophy of Business
Random House Trade Paperbacks (2002)
ISBN-10: 037575878X

Jonathan Zittrain
The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It
Yale University Press (2009)
ISBN-10: 0300151241

Humanities Resource Center:

If you want assistance writing your papers, you should ask for help well ahead of the paper's due date. For more information, get in touch with me and/or visit the Writing & Communications Center at Stevens in Morton 210 (Office Hourse M-F 1-5 pm).

Honor Board Policies:

You should by now be familiar with The Honor System at the Stevens Institute of Technology. It is your responsibility to uphold the ideals set forth in the Honor System Constitution. Specific student responsibilities include:

• Maintaining honesty and fair play in all aspects of academic life at Stevens;
• Writing and signing the pledge, in full, on all submitted academic work;
• Reporting any suspected violations to an Honor Board member or to the Dean of Student Development;
• Cooperating with the Honor Board during investigations and hearings.

If you ever have questions about how to interpret this honor system in relation to your work in my class, please get in touch with me.

Students with disabilities:

If you require special accommodations due to a disability, or if you need individual arrangements should the building be evacuated, you must inform the office of Student Counseling and Psychological Services, Dr. Terence Hannigan, Director, in the Howe Center, 7th floor (x5177), and complete the Faculty Contact Form. Once you have done so, you should ask to meet with me so that we can work out any special arrangements that may be necessary.

Grades and Course Policies:  

Attendance is mandatory. Any absences must be accounted for by notifying me before the start of class. Otherwise I will need verification from an outside authority (i.e., doctor, coach, another professor) explaining why it was necessary for you to miss class. Cell phones should either be turned off or silenced. Computer use should be related to what we are doing in class. Any students in violation of these simple rules will be marked as absent for that particular class.

Grades will be based on the following criteria:

• attendance and participation (20%)
  • includes 5 300-word summaries of current events
• midterm and final exams (20% each)
• 3-part book assignment (40%)
  • 500-word book review
  • class presentation
  • 2000-word review essay

Percentages are approximate. I will determine final weights at the end of the course. I reserve the right to give pop quizzes.

Link to Schedule, Reading List, and Assignments