HSS 371: Computers & Society
Schedule, Reading List, & Assignments:
The schedule and assignments are subject to change during the semester. If you rely on a printed version of this schedule, please check back here regularly to make sure you have the most current version.
Last revised: October 27, 2009
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| Date | Topic | Reading Assignment | Assignment |
| Monday 8/31 | Course Introduction | ||
| Tues 9/1 | Where have we been? | Identify sources of news and information | |
| Monday 9/7 | No Class - Labor Day | ||
| Tues 9/8 | Why & how do we study computers? | Friedman, Introduction See also: High-tech kids |
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| Monday 9/14 | Histories of Computing I | Friedman, Chapters 1-3 | Choose a book |
| Tues 9/15 | Histories of Computing II | Licklider, Man-Computer Symbiosis |
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| Monday 9/21 | Making Computing Personal | Friedman, Chapters 4-5 |
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| Tues 9/22 | PC Strategy | Zittrain, Chapters 1-2 | |
| Monday 9/28 | Histories of the Internet I | - ARPANET - Computer Communications - OSI Reference Model |
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| Tues 9/29 | Histories of the Internet II | - Net History - Living Internet - Tao of the IETF - Web History - Imagining the Internet |
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| Monday 10/5 | Where are we? | - A Brief History of the Internet - Al Gore and the Internet - Internet-OSI Standards War |
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| Tues 10/6 | Network Neutrality | Network Neutrality readings | |
| Monday 10/12 | No Class - Fall Recess | ||
| Tues 10/13 | Security | Zittrain, Chapter 3 | Book review due |
| Monday 10/19 | The Hacker Work Ethic | Himanen, Preface, Prologue, & Chapters 1-2 | |
| Tues 10/20 | The Money Ethic & the Nethic | Himanen, Chapters 3-6 | |
| Monday 10/26 | Hackers and Hacks | ||
| Tues 10/27 | Platform Strategies | - Zittrain, Chapters 3-5 - (optional) Weiser, Law and Information Platforms |
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| Monday 11/2 | Antitrust History: AT&T and Microsoft | - Weiser, "Regulating Interoperability" | |
| Tues 11/3 | Antitrust Future: Apple and Google? | Group exercise | Midterm Exam due |
| Monday 11/9 | Where are we going? | Browse Joe Reagle's Wikipedia drafts | |
| Tues 11/10 | Wikipedia | Zittrain, Chapter 6 Also: Why Craigslist is Such a Mess |
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| Monday 11/16 | Tradeoffs | Zittrain, Chapters 7 and 8 | |
| Tues 11/17 | Privacy | Zittrain, Chapter 9 | Sources and topics for review essay due |
| Monday 11/23 | Presentations & Critique | ||
| Tues 11/24 | Presentations & Critique | ||
| Monday 11/30 | Presentations & Critique | ||
| Tues 12/1 | Presentations & Critique | ||
| Monday 12/7 | Ethics, again | - Himanen, Chapter 7 - Nissenbaum, "How Computer Systems Embody Values" - Ensmenger, "Computers as Ethical Objects" |
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| Tues 12/8 | The Network Society | - Himanen, Epilogue (by Castells) - Zittrain, Conclusion |
Review essay due |
| Due Tuesday 12/15 at 5.00 pm |
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