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Semester Syllabus for
TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Course Instructor: Professor Joy M. Giguere
Office: GIST 219
Office Phone: (717) 771-8449
E-mail: jmg66@psu.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2-4PM
Class Day & Time: MW, 1-2:15PM, 112 Pullo
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES: This course will examine the technological development
of the United States from the pre-colonial period through the present day. Emphasis will be given not only
to the inventions themselves but the reasons why such technology was needed and what influence the
technology has had on American society. By the end of the semester, students should have developed an
understanding of the principle technological developments that shaped American civilization, effectively
analyze various scholarly readings on the history of technology, as well as complete an original research
paper on a topic dealing with the theme of the course.
REQUIRED COURSE READINGS: The following books will be required for the completion of reading
and writing assignments. They may be purchased at the campus bookstore.
Patrick Malone, The Skulking Way of War: Technology and Tactics Among the New
England Indians (Madison Books, 2000); ISBN-13: 978-1-568-33165-2
Merritt Roe Smith and Leo Marx, eds., Does Technology Drive History?: The Dilemma of
Technological Determinism (MIT Press, 1994); ISBN-13: 978-0-262-69167-3
Mark Essig, Edison and the Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death (2003)
These books will also be available on reserve at the Penn State York library throughout the semester, so if
you choose not to purchase the books, you can still keep up on assignments. As these books are available at
the library, there is NO excuse for not completing reading/writing assignments!
ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING: There will be no examinations in the course. Your final grade will be
determined according to the percentages in the following categories, NOT out of a running total of points.
The semester grade will be based upon performance in the following categories:
Class Participation (10%): It is of the utmost importance that students attend every class meeting. However,
class participation goes beyond simple attendance. This portion of the grade is based upon the student’s level
of engagement in the class, including asking questions, discussing readings and sharing ideas. For some
weeks, students will be asked to bring questions/comments on the assigned readings to class for discussion –
these questions will need to be handed in by the students in order to receive participation credit.
Short Analysis Papers (15%): Students will be expected to hand in short (1-2 page) analysis papers based on
a number of their weekly article and essay readings. Each paper will need to include an explanation of the
author’s argument(s) along with some commentary about the major issues presented in the reading. The
purpose of these papers is to help students grapple with historical writing about technology in America and
serve as aids in weekly discussion of the material.
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Skulking Way of War Paper (10%)
Technological Determinism Paper (20%)
Edison Paper (20%)
Research Paper (25%): Students will be required to write an original 7-10 page research paper on a topic of
their choosing. This will be a semester-long project during which time students will be expected, at various
points in the semester, to hand in evidence of their progress (e.g. topic proposal, annotated bibliography,
paper outline).
GRADING:
On any given writing-based assignment, content (that is, what you know) will be graded most heavily.
However, poor writing (grammar, spelling, punctuation), will negatively affect your grade. Late assignments
will be accepted within two weeks of the assignment’s due date, with 10 points taken off for each week late.
If an assignment is more than two weeks late, it will NOT be accepted for credit.
If you must miss a class, you may e-mail me your weekly paper so that it is counted as on-time; however,
you must hand a hardcopy in to me at the next class meeting for the assignment to receive full credit.
All late or extra credit work must be handed in to me, in hardcopy, NO LATER than the last week of lectures
BEFORE finals week.
All grading will be done according to a 100-point scale. Numeric Grade Breakdown:
93-100
A
90-92
A87-89
B+
84-86
B
80-83
B77-79
C+
70-76
C
60-69
D
0-59
F
MAKE-UP & ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Being late or not attending class will negatively affect your grade. You are responsible for all missed
material due to any absences, and there is no make-up for absence from class.
In case of a documentable emergency, the policies may be adjusted at the discretion of the instructor.
ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT:
Penn State defines academic integrity as the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible
manner. All students should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights and property,
and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts
(Faculty Senate Policy 49-20).
Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course. Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to,
cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others,
having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used
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without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Students who are
found to be dishonest will receive academic sanctions and will be reported to the University’s Judicial
Affairs office for possible further disciplinary sanction.
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE:
Cell phones MUST be turned off or put on vibrate mode. Text messaging is NOT allowed during class – it
is rude. You must gain permission from the instructor if you wish to use your laptop or tablet to take notes
during the class.
DISABILITY SERVICES:
It is Penn State York's policy to not discriminate against qualified students with documented disabilities. If
you have a disability-related need for accommodations in this course, please contact your instructor during
the first week of class. You may also wish to contact Dr. Dzubak in the Nittany Success Center (771- 4013
and cmd14@psu.edu ) for assistance with testing accommodations that extend beyond the scope of the
instructor.
CAMPUS CLOSURE STATEMENT:
In the event of a campus closure, course requirements, classes, deadlines and grading schemes are subject to
changes that may include alternative delivery methods, alternative methods of interaction with the instructor,
class materials, and/or classmates, a revised attendance policy, and a revised semester calendar and/or
grading scheme. Information about course changes will be communicated through [ANGEL, e-mail, etc….]
For notification about campus closures, please refer to Penn State York’s website at
http://www.yk.psu.edu , call the weather hotline at 717 771-4079, or sign up for live text messages at
PSUAlert (https://psualert.psu.edu/psualert/ ). This is a service designed to alert the Penn State community
via text messages to cell phones when situations arise on campus that affect the ability of the campus students, faculty and staff - to function normally.
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SEMESTER SCHEDULE:
Week 1
Monday (8/24) – Introductions & Syllabus Overview
Wednesday (8/26) – What is Technology? (And how do Historians study it???)
Readings for Class: 1) Smith & Marx, Does Technology Drive History?, Introduction, ix-xv
2) Susan J. Douglas, “Some Thoughts on the Question “How Do New Things
Happen?”,”Technology and Culture Vol. 51 (April 2010), 293-304.
Assignment for Wednesday: Be prepared to discuss readings; bring 3 questions/comments on
Douglas to class
Week 2
Monday (8/31) – Lithics, Mounds & Pottery, Oh My!: Native American Technology
Wednesday (9/2) – Native American Technology, cont’d
Readings for Class: 1) Malone, The Skulking Way of War, pp.1-51
2) Smith & Marx, Does Technology Drive History?, Chapter 1 (Smith), pp.1-36
Assignment for Wednesday: Analysis Paper on Smith (1-2 pages)
Week 3
Monday (9/7) – Technologies of Contact & Accommodation: Medicine & Agriculture
Wednesday (9/9) – Technologies of Contact & Accommodation: Firearms
Readings for Class: 1) Malone, The Skulking Way of War, pp.52-100
Assignment for Wednesday: Be prepared to discuss Malone, bring questions for paper to class
Week 4
Monday (9/14) – Memento Mori: Gravestones & Their Evolution
Wednesday (9/16) – Toward a Consumer Culture: Architecture, Crafts & Communications
Assignment for Wednesday: Skulking Way of War Paper Due (2-4 pages)
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Week 5
Monday (9/21) – Building the Early Republic: The First Industrial Revolution
Wednesday (9/23) – Industrial Revolution, cont’d
Readings for Class: 1) Smith & Marx, Does Technology Drive History?, Chapter 2 (Smith), pp.37-52
2) Essig, Edison & The Electric Chair, Prologue – Chapter 5, pp.1-61
Assignment for Wednesdsay: Analysis paper on Smith (1-2 pages)
Week 6
Monday (9/28) – How to Die, American Style: Caskets, Embalming & Rural Cemeteries
Wednesday (9/30) – Westward, Ho! The Railroad in American Culture
Readings for Class: 1) Alex Ruuska, “Ghost Dancing and the Iron Horse: Surviving through
Tradition and Technology,” Technology and Culture Vol.52 (July 2011), 574597. (Library e-Reserve)
2) Essig, Edison, Chapters 6-9, pp.62-117
Assignment for Wednesday: 1) Bring 3 questions/comments on Ruuska and Essig for Discussion
2) Research Topic Proposal Due in Class with Preliminary
Bibliography (3-5 Sources)
Week 7
Monday (10/5) – Capturing Souls in a Box: The Development of Photography
Wednesday (10/7) – “Can you hear me now?”: The Communications Revolution
Readings for Class: 1) Kenneth Lipartito, “When Women Were Switches: Technology, Work, and
Gender in the Telephone Industry, 1890-1920” The American Historical
Review, Vol. 99, No. 4 (Oct., 1994), pp.1075-1111
2) Christopher Beauchamp, “Who Invented the Telephone? Lawyers, Patents,
and the Judgments of History,” Technology and Culture Vol.51 (October
2010), 854-878. (Both in Library e-Reserve)
Assignment for Wednesday: Analysis paper on Lipartito or Beauchamp (but be prepared to
discuss both!) (1-2 pages)
Week 8
Monday (10/12) – Saving Lives(?): Medicine & Hospitals
Wednesday (10/14) – Work, Scientific Management & the Creation of the Modern City
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Reading for Class: 1) Essig, Edison, Chapter 10-15, pp.118-199
2) Daniel Nelson, “Scientific Management in Transition: Frederick W. Taylor at
Johnstown, 1896,” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 99:4
(Oct. 1975), pp.460-475 (Library e-Reserve)
Assignment for Wednesday: Bring 3 questions/comments on Nelson for discussion
Week 9
Monday (10/19) – Moving Americans, Americans on the Move
Wednesday (10/21) – The Birth of Film
Reading for Class: FINISH EDISON & THE ELECTRIC CHAIR, CH.16-EPILOGUE,
pp.200-294
Week 10
Monday (10/26) – Solutions to Modern Problems
Wednesday (10/28) – War-Time Technologies
Assignment for Wednesday: Edison Paper (3-5 pages) Due in Class
Week 11
Monday (11/2) – Postwar (Ka)Boom
Wednesday (11/4) – Video: How William Shatner Changed the World
Readings for Class: 1) Smith & Marx, Does Technology Drive History?, Chapter 5 (Bruce Bimber),
pp.79-100 and
2) Chapter 6 (Thomas Hughes), pp.101-114
3) Chapter 7 (Thomas Misa), pp.115-142
Assignment for Wednesday: Analysis paper on Bimber or Hughes or Misa (1-2 pages)
Week 12
Monday (11/9) – Finish video; Technology & The Environment
Wednesday (11/11) – Chemical Technologies
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Assignment for Wednesday: Annotated Bibliography & Paper Outline
Week 13
Monday (11/16) – Technology in a De-Industrialized Nation
Wednesday (11/18) – Biotechnology
Readings for Class: 1) Smith & Marx, Does Technology Drive History?, Chapter 8 (Philip Scranton),
pp.143-168
2) Chapter 11 (Williams), pp.217-236
3) Chapter 12 (Marx), pp.237-258
Assignment for Wednesday: Analysis paper on Scranton or Williams or Marx (1-2 pages)
NOVEMBER 23-28: NO CLASS (THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY)
Week 14
Monday (11/30) – The Development of the Computer
Wednesday (12/2) – The Internet
Assignment for Wednesday: Technological Determinism Paper (3-5 pages) Due in Class
Week 15
Monday (12/7) – Video: Digital Nation
Wednesday (12/9) – Finish Video
Reading for Class: 1) Michael D. Bess, “Icarus 2.0: A Historian’s Perspective on Human Biological
Enhancement,” Technology and Culture Vol.49 (January 2008), 114-126.
Assignment for Friday: Extra Credit Analysis of Bess (1-2 pages)
Week 16
RESEARCH PAPERS DUE
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Paper Assignment for Patrick Malone, The Skulking Way of War
HIST 151
Upon completion of reading Malone’s The Skulking Way of War, I want you to write a 2-4 page paper in
which you address the following themes/questions:
1. What is the book about? (This should entail just a brief summary)
2. What is the “skulking” way of warfare vs. the “total warfare” used by Europeans?
3. What were the principal military techniques and technologies used by tribes before contact with
Europeans? How did the European presence change native warfare?
4. In considering the adoption of European technologies, which were most popular among Indians?
How did European colonists eventually feel about native use of firearms in particular?
5. Finally, a consideration about the ethics of warfare: Europeans criticized the native “skulking”
way of war as cowardly, while European “total warfare” involved wholesale destruction of the
enemy. Which method, historically, appears to have been more effective (in terms of achieving
victory) but also more “ethical” (if such a term can be used when the killing of others is
involved).
Required format/style components:
1. Title Page, including paper title, name, date, and class information
2. A proper Introductory paragraph and Conclusion
3. Footnotes OR in-text citations for all sources cited; direct quotes MUST have page numbers to
accompany them
4. 1-inch margins, Times New Roman font Size 12
Final format requirement:
This paper MUST include a minimum of THREE direct quotes from Malone. However, you should
not rely solely on direct quotes. Try to choose brief, one or two line quotations to use to support your own
analysis. Remember, quotes do NOT speak for themselves, so you must EXPLAIN them!
This paper will primarily be graded on its content and the detail of your analysis. However, poor writing will
result in a lowered grade. The basic breakdown, according to 100 total possible points will be: 75 points for
content; 25 points for format.
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Paper Assignment for Essig, Edison and the Electric Chair
HIST 151/STS 151: History of American Technology
Upon completion of reading Essig’s Edison and the Electric Chair, I want you to write a 3-5 page paper in
which you address the following themes/questions:
1. What is the book about? (This should entail just a brief summary)
2. What is Essig’s overall argument?
3. In what ways were Edison and his work a product of what we might call a “Heroic Age of
Invention”? In what ways were these inventions merely a culmination of a longer history of
scientific experimentation and exploration?
4. While Edison envisioned certain uses for electricity, how did his invention(s) change as a result
of the social and/or industrial environment?
5. How does this book reveal that there is no such thing as technology for technology’s sake? How
do technological advancements/developments carry with them broader
social/cultural/environmental consequences?
6. Finally, choose one other technology that we have studied thus far this semester to compare with
Edison’s development and use of electricity. In what ways do the principal uses of a given
technology change over time? Or, how does it have far-reaching consequences beyond the initial
excitement of discovery?
Required format/style components:
1. Title Page, including paper title, name, date, and class information
2. A proper Introductory paragraph and Conclusion
3. Footnotes OR in-text citations for all sources cited; direct quotes MUST have page numbers to
accompany them
4. 1-inch margins, Time/Times New Roman font Size 12
5. Sources Cited Page
Final format requirement:
This paper MUST include a minimum of THREE direct quotes from your source(s). However, you
should not rely solely on direct quotes. Try to choose brief, one or two line quotations to use to support your
own analysis. Remember, quotes to NOT speak for themselves, so you must EXPLAIN them!
This paper will primarily be graded on its content and the detail of your analysis. However, poor writing
(grammar, spelling, etc.) will result in a lowered grade. The basic breakdown, according to 100 total possible
points will be: 75 points for content; 25 points for format.
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Technological Determinism Paper Assignment
HIST 151/STS 151: History of American Technology
Throughout this semester, a common theme that we have addressed in our readings and in class discussion
has been the issue of Technological Determinism. In a well-written and well-argued essay of 3-5 pages, I
want you to address the following:
7. Define Technological Determinism as well as the “hard” and “soft” interpretations of technology.
8. Drawing upon TWO of the essays in your Does Technology Drive History book, examine the
basic arguments made by historians regarding the development of technology and its relation to
human societies. Be sure to choose one example each of a “hard” deterministic approach and a
“soft” deterministic approach from your readings. Compare and contrast these arguments.
9. In considering the overall development of technology in the United States (communications,
travel, entertainment, military, environmental, etc.), are you a “hard” or “soft” determinist? Do
you feel that technology itself possesses the power to drive society, or does society drive
technology? Does technology merely reflect and respond to political/social/economic trends or
does it, in fact, cause them? Be sure to cite THREE examples of technology to make your case.
Required format/style components:
6. Title Page, including paper title, name, date, and class information
7. A proper Introductory paragraph and Conclusion
8. Footnotes OR in-text citations for all sources cited; direct quotes MUST have page numbers to
accompany them
9. 1-inch margins, Time/Times New Roman font Size 12
10. Sources Cited Page
Final format requirement:
This paper MUST include a minimum of THREE direct quotes from your source(s). However, you
should not rely solely on direct quotes. Try to choose brief, one or two line quotations to use to support your
own analysis. Remember, quotes to NOT speak for themselves, so you must EXPLAIN them!
This paper will primarily be graded on its content and the detail of your analysis. However, poor writing
(grammar, spelling, etc.) will result in a lowered grade. The basic breakdown, according to 100 total possible
points will be: 75 points for content; 25 points for format.
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Research Paper Guidelines
For your final History of Technology research papers, they must include the following formatting and
content guidelines:
1. Length: 7-10 pages (typed, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, Times/Times New Roman font size
12)
2. Cover Page: This should include the title of your paper, your name and class information
3. Sources Cited Page: This should be a bibliography of all sources that you used when writing your
paper (this does NOT need to be annotated)
4. You must cite ALL materials that you incorporate into your papers. This includes BOTH direct
quotes AND paraphrased information!
a. Citations – either parenthetical or as footnotes at the bottom of the page, though for this
assignment I would prefer footnotes (refer to Turabian’s Chicago Manual for stylistic
guidelines) – need to include the author, source and page number.
5. Paper structure
a. Introduction
b. Section by section/topic-by-topic body paragraphs
c. Conclusion
Bibliography formatting rules:
For books:
Last name, First name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Date.
For journal articles:
Last name, First name. “Title of Article,” Journal Title Volume, Issue # (Month, Year), page
#s within the journal.
For websites:
“Title of your source” at http://www.locationofyoursource.org/edu/gov/etc.
A Note on Sources: For your research, you should primarily focus your efforts on accumulating scholarly
sources – these include books published by university presses (check the first pages for the publication
information) and journal articles from peer-reviewed, discipline-specific journals. Good databases for peerreviewed journal articles include JSTOR, Project Muse, and Proquest, all of which can be accessed via the
databases option in libraries.psu.edu. If you find a website that you absolutely love, you must first have it
approved by me before you can include it as a source in your bibliography.
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