HIST 285-940 - Technology in Historical Perspective - Fall 2018

Online Course

Dr. Lloyd Ackert

Department of History, Drexel University
Office: MacAlister Hall 5011; [email protected]
Office Phone: 215-895-0993, Cell: 518-965-3562
Office Hours: By Appointment

Course Description:
In this course we will survey the history of technological developments from the
Renaissance to the current day. We will focus on a series of technological objects—
machines, tools, and systems—considering them in their broader historical (social, cultural,
and political) contexts. Organized chronologically we will trace this history beginning with
Leonardo Da Vinci and ending with 21st Century Disasters and Information Security. This is
not, however, a teleological assessment, which assumes a progressive improvement of
technology—each era has merits in its own rights.

Learning Objectives:
The goal of the course, in fact, is to debate this central issue. Through technological
objects we can examine the role of technology in society—both in the distant past, and
occasionally as it relates to your own contemporary interests. In addition, students will
gain an appreciation for the nature of historical research and narrative development. In
addition, this course aims to provide students with:
- a concise survey of the major turning points in the history of technology,
- an appreciation for the primary sources available to the historian of technology,
- an understanding of the various historiographic trends offered to assess this era
- Through its projects and assignments, the course addresses Drexel Student
Learning Priorities of Communication, Creative and Critical Thinking, Information
Literacy, and Self-Directed Learning.

Required Book:
Thomas J. Misa, Leonardo to the Internet: Technology and Culture from the
Renaissance to the Present (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011), Second
Edition; ISBN: 9781421401539; also available in the Drexel Bookstore.
All other readings will be available through the Course Reserves folder on Learn.

Online Weekly Response:

Each week students will post a comment of 300-500 words on a prompt/question
related to the weekly readings or other materials. These will be due each Sunday, are
worth 100 points each and require specific references and citations to the readings or
other assigned materials (e.g. films). The final WR grade will be based on the total
responses minus one (that is, I will drop the lowest grade) - ***10% late penalty after 3
days, not accepted after 2 weeks (except with valid reason).
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Research Project – Research Project: “Information Literacy Research Project”

You will work on a theme and format of your choice to investigate a topic in the
history of technology between 1500-Present. With the assistance of the Hagerty Library
Research Librarians, I will provide the tools and guidance needed to develop the projects
and to enhance your Information Literacy.
Topics might be: the technical innovations created or research conducted in a
particular geographic region, institutions of science and technology, the individuals or
communities working in technology, etc.
To complete this research you will likely need to locate 1) one or more primary
historical sources (documents written during the time you are focusing on and by
scientists, or science administrators working in the city), 2) at least two secondary
historical sources that place the primary sources in their historical context (works written
by contemporary historians), and/or 3) a map of the region during the time period (or
close to it).

Research Project Schedule

- Research Seminar: I will provide an online research seminar to guide you in locating the
needed sources, relevant databases, and historical guides. (Week 2)

- Project Proposal: Submit a 250-word project proposal with a short description of the
project and a bibliography. (Week 3)

- Comprehensive Outline (Week 5)

- Draft: (Week 7/8)

- Peer Review: Students will provide comments on other students’ work. (Weeks 3-9)

- Final Presentation: All students will presentation the findings of their research project
to the class using a Discussion Board. (Week 10)

- Final Draft: Is due as a Turnitin Assignment on Learn during Finals Week.

Grading:
- Weekly Responses - 45% (10% late penalty after one week, not accepted after two
weeks.)
- Research Project - 45% (Proposal 10%, Outline 10%, Draft 10%, Peer Review 10%, Final
Version 60%)
- Student Online Presentations (10%)

Grading Scale:

A+ (97-100%) B+ (87-89%) C+ (77-79%) D+ (67-69%)

A (93-96%) B (83-86%) C (73-76%) D (63-66%)
A- (90-92%) B- (80-82%) C- (70-72%) F (62% and below)
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Course Policies

Policies and Conduct:

Consult the syllabus frequently in order to keep up with scheduled speakers, section
meetings, readings, and assignment deadlines. Keeping up with the assignment schedule is
your responsibility.
As a rule I do not accept late exams or other assignments for any reason other than
excused, documented absences. It will be your responsibility to make certain that I receive
a hard copy of any excused absence documentation. Leaving town for work or having a
busy week are understandable facts of life, but they do not comprise excused absences
from class.
Please arrive to class on time, stay for the entire period, and display professional
conduct at all times. Cell phones must be turned off and put away. Laptops must be used
only for taking notes during class time. These rules will be strictly enforced.
Students who score below passing on the course will have the opportunity to do an
additional assignment to raise their grade to a 70. You must notify me that you wish to take
advantage of this opportunity, and it must be completed no later than one week after the
exam is returned to you.
All excused schedule conflicts must be submitted to me, in writing, by the end of the
first week of the term. Make-up assignments are only offered in the case of documented,
excused absences. Excused absences include illness, religious observances, and
documented university extra-curricular events.
No extensions or incompletes will be offered in this course. If a student has
unfinished coursework at the end of the term due to a documented, excused absence, I will
assign the grade earned to that point—the student will then have two weeks from the last
day of the term to complete any missing work, and I may at that time submit a change of
grade form.
It is the responsibility of the student to be on the class e-mail list, and to be aware of
e-mail updates from me. It is the responsibility of the student to make sure that she/he is
marked present on roll sheets. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain all reading
updates, sample exam questions, take-home exams, and any other materials handed out in
class.
I reserve the right to amend this syllabus in any way necessary for the benefit of the
class.

Academic Honesty:

The following policies are drawn from the Official Student Handbook:
Drexel University is committed to a learning environment that embraces academic honesty.
In order to protect members of our community from the results of dishonest conduct, the
University has adopted policies to deal with cases of academic dishonesty. We comply fully
with the University’s “Academic Honesty Policy,” as explained in the Official Student
Handbook. It is the student’s responsibility to know and follow the policies set forth in the
Official Student Handbook. Academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism will result in an
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immediate F for the course with no exceptions. Academic dishonesty may result in
suspension or expulsion from Drexel University.

Americans With Disabilities Act:

In compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Drexel University’s policies and procedures, the University
is committed to the non-discrimination of students with disabilities. Students with
disabilities requesting accommodations and services at Drexel University need to present a
current accommodation verification letter (“AVL”) to faculty before accommodations can
be made. AVL’s are issued by the Office of Disability Services (“ODS”). For additional
information, contact the ODS at http://www.drexel.edu/oed/disabilityResources/, 3201
Arch St., Ste. 210, Philadelphia, PA 19104, V 215.895.1401, or TTY 215.895.2299.

Course Schedule

Week One (Sept 24-30) “Court Patronage”

Part 1. Lecture: Technologies in the Court, 1450-1600

Online Weekly Response: Long on ‘Patronage and Mechanical Knowledge’

Readings:
- Misa, Preface and Ch. 1 (ix-32)
- Long, Pamela O. Openness, Secrecy, Authorship: Technical Arts and the Culture of Knowledge
from Antiquity to the Renaissance. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004; Read
Chapter Six, ‘Openness and Authorship I Mining, Metallurgy, and the Military Arts’ (pp. 175-
209). Link

Week Two (Oct 1-7) “Commerce”

Part 1. Lecture: ‘The Techniques of Commerce, 1588-1740.’

Part 2. ‘Information Literacy Program Orientation.’

Online Weekly Response: ‘The Dutch and Herring and Sea Rise’

Readings:
- Misa, Ch. 2 (33-58)
- Richard W. Unger, “Dutch Herring, Technology, and International Trade in the
Seventeenth Century,’ The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Jun., 1980), pp. 253-
280.
- Wiebe E. Bijker, “The Oosterschelde Storm Surge Barrier: A Test Case for Dutch Water
Technology, Management, and Politics,” Technology and Culture, Vol. 43, No. 3, ‘Water
Technology in the Netherlands’ (Jul., 2002), pp. 569-584.
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Week Three (Oct 8-14) “Industrialization”

*** Project Proposals Due

Part 1. Lecture: ‘Geographies of Industry, 1740-1851’

Part 2. View the Film: Mill Times

Online Weekly Response: Mason on the Beer Act of 1830.

Readings:
- Misa, Ch. 3 (59-96)
- Nicholas Mason, "The Sovereign People Are in a Beastly State: The Beer Act of 1830 and
Victorian Discourse on Working-Class Drunkenness,” Victorian Literature and Culture, Vol.
29, No. 1 (2001), pp. 109-127.
- Film: Mill Times (PBS Documentary) available on Youtube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toV9uIDIJMs

Week Four (Oct 15-21) “Imperialism”

Part 1. View and discuss Film: A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama.

Part 2. Lecture: ‘Instruments of Empire, 1840-1914 ‘

Online Weekly Response: Imperialism, Greene and the Panama Canal

Readings:
- Misa, Ch. 4 (97-127)
- Julie Greene, “Spaniards on the Silver Roll: Labor Troubles and Liminality in the Panama
Canal Zone, 1904-1914,” International Labor and Working-Class History, No. 66, New
Approaches to Global Labor History (Fall, 2004), pp. 78-98, Cambridge University Press.

Week Five (Oct 22-28) “Systems”

*** Project Outlines Due

Part 1. Lecture: ‘Science and Systems, 1870-1930’

Part 2. View and discuss Film: The Linotype, The Film: In Search of the Eighth Wonder of the
World

Online Weekly Response: The Linotype as Invention and System

Readings:
- Misa, Ch. 5 (128-157)
- The Linotype Film Website: http://www.linotypefilm.com/; Available to borrow from the
Hagerty Library Film Reserves.
- Roy W. Howard, “Newspaper Mass Production,” The North American Review, Vol. 225, No.
842 (Apr., 1928), pp. 420-424.
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- John J. Fry, “‘Good Farming-Clear Thinking-Right Living’": Midwestern Farm Newspapers,

Social Reform, and Rural Readers in the Early Twentieth Century,” Agricultural History, Vol.
78, No. 1 (Winter, 2004), pp. 34-49.

Week Six (Oct 29-Nov 4) “Modernism”

Part 1. Lecture: ‘Materials of Modernism, 1900-1950’

Part 2. View selections of Modern Times and Metropolis.

Online Weekly Response:

Option 1: “The Italian Futurists and Technological Fundamentalism”

Option 2: “De Stijl and Technological Fundamentalism”
Option 3: “The Bauhaus and Technological Fundamentalism”
Option 4: “Mertins on ‘Modern Materials and Utopia’”

Readings:
- Misa, Ch. 6 (158-189)
- Detlef Mertins, “The Enticing and Threatening Face of Prehistory: Walter Benjamin and
the Utopia of Glass,’ Assemblage, No. 29 (Apr., 1996), pp. 6-23.
- White, A. (2015). “Italian futurism 1909-1944: Reconstructing the Universe/Italian
futurism 1909-1944,” The Art Bulletin, 97(1), 104-107.
- Italian Futurism 1909-1944: Reconstructing the Universe; An exhibit at the Solomon R.
Guggenheim Museum, New York, February 21-September 1, 2014; Available at:
http://exhibitions.guggenheim.org/futurism/
- Candace Jackson, “Taking the Blame Off Bauhaus: The movement is more than Ikea lamps
and cold steel buildings,” The Wall Street Journal, 6 November 2009; Available at:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704013004574517551273151342
De Stijl, An online exhibit at the Tate Museum; Available at:
http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/d/de-stijl
Jackie Wullschlager, “Van Doesburg at Tate Modern,” Financial Times, 6 February 2010;
Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/711772d8-11e4-11df-b6e3-00144feab49a.html
The Bauhaus, Workshops for Modernity, 1919-1933; An online exhibit at:
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2009/bauhaus/Main.html

Week Seven (Nov 5-11) “WWII and its Impact“

*** Project Drafts Due beginning this week.

Part 1. Lecture: ‘The Means of Destruction, 1936-1990’

Part 2. View documentary: The Day after Trinity

Online Weekly Response:

Readings:
- Misa, Ch. 7 (190-224)
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- Michael J. Neufeld, “Hitler, the V-2, and the Battle for Priority, 1939-1943,” The Journal of
Military History, Vol. 57, No. 3 (Jul., 1993), pp. 511-538.
- Leon V. Sigal, “Bureaucratic Politics & Tactical Use of Committees: The Interim Committee
& the Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb,’ Polity, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Spring, 1978), pp. 326-364.

Week Eight (Nov 12-18) “Globalism”

Part 1. Lecture: Toward Global Culture, 1970-2001

Readings:
- Misa, Ch. 8 (225-259)
- Robert J. Lieber and Ruth E. Weisberg, “Globalization, Culture, and Identities in Crisis,
International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Winter, 2002), pp. 273-
296.

Week Nine (Nov 19-25) “Security and Disaster Investigations”

Part 1. View selected sections of Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke
Part 2. Lecture: ‘Paths to Insecurity, 2001-2010’

Online Weekly Response: Knowles on Disasters

Readings:
- Scott Knowles, “Lessons in the Rubble: The World Trade Center and the History of
Disaster Investigations in the United States,” History and Technology (Spring, 2003): 9-28.
- Scott Knowles, “Investigating 3.11: Disaster and the Politics of Expert Inquiry,” available
at: http://fukushimaforum.wordpress.com/online-forum-2/online-forum/investigating-3-
11/

Week Ten Plus (Nov 26-Dec 8) “Online Student Presentations”

***Final Essays Due on Learn

Student Presentations will be submitted to a Discussion Board on Learn. A mandatory

Weekly Response will be assigned.