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Regular version of the site
2019/2020

The History of Technological Development in Society

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'
Type: Mago-Lego
When: 3, 4 module
Instructors: Thomas Thurner
Language: English
ECTS credits: 3
Contact hours: 32

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Humans interact with each other and their environment through technology - that is the use of materials, energy, tools, and complex machines. Technology has been designed and created to serve human needs and desires. On the other hand, technology has itself shaped human co-existence and societies and became a defining feature of human existence. This course studies the bidirectional nature of this relationship through discussing technology as the outcome of particular technical, historical, cultural, and political efforts and the societal consequences triggered through technological change. Also, the analysis will include how political, military, economic, social, and religious objectives have guided the design and use of technology.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The course studies how technological and societal development have influenced and nourished each other. The lectures cover episodes of mechanization, communications, electronics, computers, power & energy, or military technology. The course builds on historical examples of technological development and societal change and comments and reflects on the two latest major publications on the subject, namely Yuval Noah Harari (2018), 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Spiegel & Grau, ISBN 9780525512172. Steven Pinker (2018), Enlightment now, Viking, ISBN 9780525427575.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Understanding the interplay of civil and military technologies
  • Understanding how the emerging technologies changed the view of the human and the natural, naming and dating some of the most important technological developments
  • Naming some of the key innovations and understanding the far-reaching social changes introduced by the industrial revolution
  • Understanding the importance of the space race and the associated technological breakthroughs
  • Understanding the role of design and technology in consumer culture
  • Understanding the role of niche markets in driving technological development
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • From the emergence of Homo Sapiens to the Middle ages
    The lecture discusses the emergence of the modern man (homo sapiens) and studies early technologies like hand axes or forms of artistic expressions like cave art. Then, we discuss selected technologies that shaped the early empires up to the middle ages.
  • Technology and war: from ancient warfare to the Renaissance engineers
    The history of War is shaped by the application of technology at the battlefields. We discuss the development from the beginning of mankind to the 16th century.
  • The telescope, the heliocentric worldview, the printing press and the measurement of time
    Renaissance geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci or Galileo Galilei and the introduction of technologies like printing or the clock tower.
  • The laws of motion, universal gravitation, and electricity
    Isaac Newton and the discovery of electricity.
  • The industrial revolution: The mechanization of the production process and the rise of the factory.
    The rise of the factory, the mechanization of the production process, and the emergence of the steam engine
  • The history of space exploration: Sputnik, the Apollo missions, the space race and new horizons.
    From the first satellites, the first man in space, on the moon and the international space station.
  • The history of car design: The Benz Motorcar, muscle and silhouette cars, and the most successful series of mass-produced cars
    From the Benz Motocar (1885) to the cars of pre and post WWII and the muscle cars, the silhouette cars - and the vison of the flying car.
  • The history of electronic games: From arcade games to youth culture, Massive Online Games and Virtual Reality
    From arcade games to youth culture, Massive Online Games and Virtual Reality
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Оnline assessment (multiple choice) after each block
  • non-blocking Written exam
    Written Examination in a form of an Essay: the students receive the subject of the essay on June 11 and will submit by June 19.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (4 module)
    0.7 * Written exam + 0.3 * Оnline assessment (multiple choice) after each block
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Bodanis, D. (2005). Electric Universe : How Electricity Switched on the Modern World (Vol. 1st ed). New York: Broadway Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=737339
  • Erickson, L. K. (2010). Space Flight : History, Technology, and Operations. Lanham, Md: Government Institutes. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=499663
  • Kelly, K. (2011). What Technology Wants. New York, New York: Penguin Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1121170
  • Rhodes, N., & Sawday, J. (2000). The Renaissance Computer : Knowledge Technology in the First Age of Print. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=77255

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Divine, R. A. (1993). The Sputnik Challenge. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=672470