Course Outline UPDATED 8/25/02

HIST (ID:) 4810 -- History of Technology Fall Semester 2003

Wednesday at 5:30pm – 8:20

Instructor	Name: Dr. Eric Swedin Email: eswedin@weber.edu Web: Phone: 801-395-3553 Office: Office on Davis campus: DV137L  Office on main campus: TE110 Hours: Name: Dr. David L. Ferro Email: dferro@weber.edu Web: http://icarus.weber.edu/home/dferro Phone: 626-8095 Office: TE110c Hours: MTWTh at 10-11am and Th at 9-10am
Texts	Peter James and Nick Thorpe.  Ancient Inventions. 1994. Ruth Schwartz Cowan, More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave. 1983. J. R. NcNeill.  Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World.  2001.

How to write history part one – doing the research

How to write history part two – writing tips

How to write history part three – giving a good talk

How to write history part four – critique of writing guide

Tentative Class Schedule, Topic Guide, and Assignments

Week	Starting	Topic & Chapters	Work DUE
1	Monday, August 25	Introduction to class.  What is the history of technology?
2	Tuesday, Sept. 2	Ancient Inventions chapters 2 & 11
3	Monday, Sept. 8	Ancient Inventions chapters 6 & 12	Essay #1 due
4	Monday, Sept. 15	Ancient Inventions chapters 7 & 9
5	Monday, Sept. 22	Ancient Inventions chapters 8 & 10	Essay #2 due
6	Monday, Sept. 29	Ancient Inventions chapters 1 & 4
7	Monday, Oct. 6	Ancient Inventions chapters 3 & 5	Essay #3 due
8	Monday, Oct. 13	More Work for Mother chapters 1-4	Timeline exercise due
9	Monday, Oct. 20	More Work for Mother chapters 5-7
10	Monday, Oct. 27	Something New Under the Sun  chapters 1-2	Essay #4 due
11	Monday, Nov. 3	Something New Under the Sun  chapters 3-4
12	Monday, Nov. 10	Something New Under the Sun chapters 5-6	essay #5 due
13	Monday, Nov. 17	Something New Under the Sun  chapters 7-8 NO CLASS
14	Monday, Nov. 24	Something New Under the Sun chapters 9-10	essay #6 due
15	Monday, Dec. 1	Something New Under the Sun  chapters 11-12
FINALS	Monday, Dec. 6	No Final Exam	essay #7 due

Class Objective	To introduce students to perspectives on the interaction between technology and society.
Class Organization	Class will consist of lecture and discussion on topics assigned through this outline and class assignments. The instructor will expect the students to have read the covered chapters prior to classroom instruction. The instructors will engage with the class to assure that learning occurs. Emailing the professor: whenever you do this you must include in your subject line “class-name-subjectmatter”. For example: “techhist-jimbrown-question about Cowen”. This is very important for me to stay organized and I will ignore your emails if you persist in not satisfying this reasonable request. In general, I will respond that I have received your email. Save my responses as they may be useful in the event of a conflict of opinion on whether you have sent me an email or not. DO NOT SEND multiple copies of the same email unless requested.
Exams, Projects, Homework, Class Participation	The course grade is determined by Class Participation  10% Book/Article Presentation 10% Timeline Exercise  10% Seven essays  70% Participation: This is a discussion class and participation is mandatory.  Participation means coming to class, having read the assigned material, and being ready with your thoughts and ideas.  We will have occasional guest lecturers and videos.
Grading Policies	Grades:     A: 90 - 100%     B: 80 - 89%     C: 70 - 79%     D: 60 - 69%     E: 0 - 59%
Note on Special Needs	Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the Student Service Center. SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative formats if necessary.
WSU Student Code	Students are expected to be familiar with the WSU Student Code and abide by it. The Code may be reviewed on line at http://www.weber.edu/ppm/6-22.htm (pay specific attention to Section 4D). All necessary steps will be taken to enforce the Student Code to guarantee fairness to all students.
CHEATING	Cheating on an exam, or turning in someone else's work as your own, will result in an E for the class.  You may work together on your assignments, but you must turn in your own work.  If you quote from a book or web site, you must properly quote and cite your work. Avoid even the appearance of cheating or plagiarism.
Late Policy	Assignments may be turned in late, but will be docked twenty-five percent.  All work must be turned in by the last day of class. Expect even less charity with scheduled presentations.
Acknowledgments	Dr. Ferro would like to thank Dr. Richard F. Hirsh, Professor of History of Technology and Science and Technology Studies at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia for his sage advice, precious instructional materials, and links to guides to better research, reading, and writing.