Computer Science 1400:
Computing in the 20th Century and Beyond
(Winter 2015)
Course Objectives / Description
Objectives: Computers and the software that they run are an integral
part of everyday life in the 21st century, both at work and at play.
The aim of this course is to give an overview for non-specialists
of how computing
has developed in terms of the basic hardware
and software technologies and how these technologies have both been
perceived by and impacted society.
Description:
This course will give an overview of the development of computing
technologies over the last 75 years as well as the perception of these
technologies by and impact of these technologies on society. The first part
of the course will give a brief history of computing, focusing on
key developments, their social impact, and their image in various print and
pictorial media. The second part will focus on a selection of current trends
in computing and what these trends (in conjunction with past developments)
have to say about the future of computing.
Prerequisites
Evaluation Scheme (Tentative)
Course Outline (Tentative)
- How We Got Here: Computing in the Past (6 weeks)
(In the Beginning (pre-1940); The First Computers
(1940-1955); The Rise of the Machines (1955-1970);
The Personal Computer Revolution (1970-1990);
The Wired Society (1990-now))
- Where We Are: Computing Now (4 weeks)
(An examination of selected issues in current computing,
e.g., life online, big data and privacy,
robots and artificial intelligence)
- Where We're Going: Computing in the Future (1 week)
Textbook
- Campbell-Kelly, M, Aspray, W., and Ensmenger, N. (2013) Computer:
A History of the Information Machine (3rd Edition). Westview Press.
References / Sources for Supplementary Readings (Selected)
- boyd, d. (2014) It's Complicated: the social lives of
networked teens. Yale University Press.
- Ceruzzi, P.E. (2012) Computing: A Concise History. The MIT Press.
- Cringely, Robert X. (1996) Accidental Empires: How the Boys of
Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition,
and Still Can't Get a Date. HarperBusiness
- Freiberger, P. and Swaine, M. (2000) Fire in the Valley: The Making
of the Personal Computer (Collectors Edition). McGraw-Hill.
- Ito, M. et al (2010) Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out:
Kids Living and Learning with New Media. The MIT Press.
- Lanier, J. (2010) You are not a Gadget: A Manifesto. Knopf.
- Lanier, J. (2013) Who Owns the Future?. Simon & Schuster.
- Morozov, E. (2011) The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet
Freedom. PublicAffairs.
- Rheingold, H. (1985) Tools for Thought: The History and Future of
Mind-expanding Technology. The MIT Press.
- Rheingold, H. (2000) The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the
Digital Frontier (Revised Edition). The MIT Press.
- Rheingold, H. (2012) Net Smart: How to Thrive Online. The MIT Press.
- Segaller, S. (1998) Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet.
TV Books.
- Turkle, S. (1984) The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit.
The MIT Press.
- Turkle, S. (1997) Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the
Internet. Simon & Schuster.
- Turkle, S. (2011) Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and
Less from Each Other. Basic Books.
- Zuckerberg, R. (2013) Dot.Complicated: Untangling our Wired Lives.
Harperone.
Created: September 8, 2014
Last Modified: October 22, 2014