Hi, While I would rather come up with my own ways to organize a syllabus that reflects the needs and wants locally (of you and your students from a class like this) rather than emulate other syllabi, I’m again teaching an undergraduate class on the history of computing this fall at UC Irvine, so let me offer a couple of comments. Today, to mark "Ada Lovelace Day" as well as the announcement of Hinton’s Nobel prize, I had fun playing them a “deep dive podcast” in class that had been generated by Google’s NotebookLM from a few assigned readings about Lovelace and Babbage, including the detailed technical description Doron Swade posted online on behalf of the Science Museum in 2020 (which is more detailed than the Difference Engine #2 User Manual). As for the overall outline of the course, for me it works to use selections from the Haigh & Ceruzzi book, "A New History Of Modern Computing" (MIT 2021) but supplementing that with chapters and articles by almost a dozen others, to provide exactly the kinds of accents you mention in your email. I decided against using TV shows like "Halt and Catch Fire" or films like the "Imitation Game" this time, though in the past I have sometimes indulged that a bit. The key to that decision I guess is whether you want the assignments to be informed by entertainment or not. Regards, Peter Krapp Computing Legacies: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262549837/computing-legacies/
On Oct 8, 2024, at 10:54, Eric Kaltman via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org> wrote:
Greetings,
I'm gearing up to teach an inaugural 100-level undergraduate course on the history of computing in the History, Classics and Religion department at the University of Alberta this Winter.
I've been reviewing the SIGCIS syllabus repository (thanks for having that available!) for potential readings, but also wanted to see if anyone on the list has had success with intro undergraduate history of computing recently. The most recent syllabus is from 2016, and I'm looking to find ways to integrate a range of topics that might be relevant to students (from brief histories of AI, innovation / maintenance, diverse representation, gender/queer theories of technology, etc.)
I was also thinking of potentially including popular cultural representations / journalistic readings related to computing cultures (Kill It with Fire, Halt and Catch Fire [lots of fire apparently?]), but due to the limitations of life have not had any time to validate those less academic offerings.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. I just moved back into a humanities department after spending five years teaching in computer science, so I'll be working to remember / relearn this with the students as well.
Best, Eric -- Dr. Eric Kaltman, Assistant Professor Software History Futures and Technologies (SHFT) Group https://www.shft.group <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.shft.group__;!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!KyO4YeSQ5Qpcur9X6vkr_u_e9C2S_1GwU2HTeW-DeSBc7gnOkjZOPu8YxlhraG4TrgpbJSvd9F-Jnq8xeA$> Media and Technology Studies / History University of Alberta _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis... and you can change your subscription options at https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sig...