STS 5206 – Main Themes in the History of Science and Technology
Meets Tues from 7:00 PM to 9:45PM at VT – Falls Church (Summer I/II)
Instructor: Shannon A. Brown (202) 685-4388
email: sbrown3@verizon.net
Course Overview and Objective:
In this seminar course, we will examine important works of scholarship on modern
technology history. The readings will focus on the United States and Europe since the
early nineteenth century. The books and articles selected for review during this term are
representative of the rich body of technology history scholarship and, during the
semester, we will be covering a wide range of historical topics. The readings have been
selected to give you a sense of the diverse analytical and narrative approaches that have
been used by historians to explore technology.
The objective of the course is to familiarize STS graduate students with a set of core
readings on the history of technology. Many of the books on the required reading list for
this class appear on the doctoral exam preparation list. By the end of the term, students
should have an awareness of some of the key themes and debates that define the history
of technology field.
Course Requirements:
Students will be required to submit one paper for credit during this term.
Your paper will be an expository essay that examines the historical significance of a
specific technology. This paper should make reference to three or four books or articles;
include a summary of the arguments made by the authors; express your views on the
significance of the technology in question; and include a conclusion that features possible
avenues of research on the history of the technology you selected. Among the questions
you should consider: Why does this technology appeal to you? What has been said about
it to date? What is its history? What kind of influence does it have on individuals or
human institutions? How can this influence be determined? The point of this exercise is
to start your thinking about historical methodology, i.e. sources, approach, and
interpretation. We will discuss these papers in class. Time permitting, be prepared to
make a brief presentation on your work.
In addition to this paper requirement, each student is responsible for preparing a single
3x5” notecard with comments and observations about the weekly reading. The card
should include at least 2 discussion questions and call out “ah hah” moments that resulted
from a review of the reading.
All students will be responsible for keeping up with the course reading. Your
STS 5206 -- Summer
Revised syllabus 3/06/12
participation grades will be based on informal reading presentations (assigned to
individuals the week prior) and open discussion.
Grading:
30% attendance and participation
45% expository review essay (7-9 pages)
25% in-class reviews and weekly note card submissions
Required Books (in order of use):
Barry Katz, Technology and Culture: A Historical Romance
Lewis Mumford, Technics and Civilization
Leo Marx, The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America
Ruth Schwartz Cowan, More Work for Mother
David A. Hounshell, From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932
David E. Nye, American Technological Sublime
John M. Staudenmaier, S.J., Technology’s Storytellers: Reweaving the Human Fabric
Daniel Headrick, Power Over Peoples
Merritt Roe Smith and Leo Marx. Does Technology Drive History: The Dilemma of
Technological Determinism
Topic, Reading and Assignment Schedule
(Reading assignments are subject to change; assignments marked “TBD” will be
announced in class several weeks before discussion.
Week 1 [May 22]
Introduction and Course Overview
What is “technology”?
Why study the history of technology?
Week 2 [May 29]
Technology in Cultural Discourse
Readings:
Katz, Technology and Culture: A Historical Romance
Week 3 [June 5]
Early Perspectives on the History of Technology
Readings:
Mumford, Technics and Civilization, pp. 3-106
Week 4 [June 12]
NO CLASS
Week 5 [June 19]
STS 5206 -- Summer
Revised syllabus 3/06/12
Technology and the American Imagination
Readings:
Marx, The Machine in the Garden
Week 6 [June 26]
Thinking About Domestic Technology
Readings:
Cowan, More Work for Mother
Week 7 [July 3]
SCOT Theory
Readings:
Pinch, Trevor J. and Wiebe E. Bijker. “The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts:
Or How the Sociology of Science and the Sociology of Technology Might Benefit Each
Other.” Social Studies of Science 14 (August 1984): 399-441.
Winner, Langdon. “Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding it Empty: Social
Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology” in Science Technology & Human
Values 18, no 3 (Summer 1993): 362-378.
Winner, Langdon. “Do Artefacts Have Politics?” Daedalus 109 (1980): 121-36.Week 8
[July 10]
The Technological Sublime
Readings:
Nye, America Technological Sublime
Week 9 [July 17]
The Making of an Academic Discipline
Readings:
Staudenmaier, Technology’s Storytellers
Week 10 [July 24]
Technology, Environment, and Imperialism
Readings:
Headrick, Power Over Peoples
Week 11 [July 31]
Determinism
Readings:
Merritt Roe Smith and Leo Marx. Does Technology Drive History: The Dilemma of
Technological Determinism. MIT Press Cambridge, 1994 (select articles, TBD)
Week 12 [August 7]
Technology in Cultural Discourse
Readings: TBD
STS 5206 -- Summer
Revised syllabus 3/06/12