New Course Proposal - TECH 114 History and Theory of Technology and Culture

Tom Calvert, Jane Fee and Robert D. Cameron

Revision A - January 30, 2003

Calendar Information

Course Number: TECH 114

Course Title: History and Theory of Technology and Culture

Credit Hours: 3 Vector: 0-0-5

Course Description

This course examines the historical development of technologies of writing, visualization and computing and their impacts on cultural development. Milestones in writing from phonetic and pictographic systems through the printing press and modern hypertext are examined. Optical technologies and how they have shaped the process of seeing itself will be explored, including the camera obscura, linear perspective, panoramas and stereoscopes. Changes in the methods of computation and how those changes affeect cultures and subcultures will be explored, including the role of time, mathematics, memes, and networks in shaping cultural evolution.

Prerequisite: None.

Recommended: None.

Corequisite: None.

Special Instructions: None.

Course(s) to be dropped if this course is approved:

TECH 111-1 Technologies of Writing
TECH 112-1 Technologies of Visualizing
TECH 113-1 Technologies of Computing

Rationale for Introduction of this Course

This course consolidates three 1-credit module-based (5 week) courses into a single 3-credit semester-based course.

Will this be a required or elective course in the curriculum; probable enrolment when offered?

Required; enrolment estimated at 400 per year.

Scheduling and Registration Information

Indicate Semester and Year this course would be first offered and planned frequency of offering thereafter.

2004-1 and annually thereafter.

Which of your present CFL faculty have the expertise to offer this course? Will the course be taught by sessional or limited term faculty?

Bowes

Are there any proposed student fees associated with this course other than tuition fees?

No.

Is this course considered a `duplicate' of any current or prior course under the University's duplicate course policy? Specify, as appropriate.

Students with credit for TECH 111, 112 and 113 may not take this course for further credit.

Resource Implications

Note: Senate has approved (S.93-11) that no new course should be approved by Senate until funding has been committed for necessary library materials. Each new course proposal must be accompanied by a library report and, if appropriate, confirmation that funding arrangements have been addressed.

Provide details on how existing instructional resources will be redistributed to accommodate this new course. For instance, will another course be eliminated or will the frequency of offering of other courses be reduced; are there changes in pedagogical style or class sizes that allow for this additional course offering.

This course will use the resources already in place for the three 1-credit modules it replaces.

Does the course require specialized space or equipment not readily available in the department or university, and if so, how will these resources be provided?

No.

Does this course require computing resources (e.g. hardware, software, network wiring, use of computer laboratory space) and if so, describe how they will be provided.

No new resources are required by virtue of this course consolidation.

Course Outline

Course Objectives:

In this course students will learn to:

Think critically about the effects of writing in their own lives and in the world around us
Discuss how individuals, groups and communities are defined by historical narratives
Apply theories of writing to their individual and team experiences of the online classroom
Expand their knowledge of the online classroom as a site of reasoned discourse
Explore the ways effective communication takes place in the virtual classroom
Think critically about the effects of technologies of vision in their own lives and in the world around us
Discuss how cultures changed along with the meaning of technology, from techne to technology, from art to efficiency
Apply theories of visualization to their individual and team experiences of the online conferencing environment
Apply their knowledge of the online classroom to an innovative team design project
Expand their knowledge of the online classroom as a site of reasoned discourse
Think critically about the effects of technologies of computing in their own lives and in the world around us
Discuss the effects of subcultures on the mainstream
Apply theories of computing to their individual and team experiences of the online conferencing environment
Explore their own positions as SFU students in relation to this discussion of technology and culture
Design a game prototype that allows them to share new knowledge with the rest of the SFU community

Course Description:

This course is divided into three parts.

InTechnologies of Writing milestones in the history of writing and their impact on culture, including phonetic and pictographic writing systems, the printing press, and hypertext are explored. Online discussions and individual and team activities encourage students to think critically about how histories are written, and how historical narratives define individuals, groups, cultures and communities.

InTechnologies of Visualizing students investigate the concepts of technology and theory, and how the process of seeing has itself been shaped by optical technologies including the camera obscura, linear perspective, panoramas and stereoscopes. Online activities encourage students to examine how the meaning of technology has changed over time and how theory informs discourse.

In Technologies of Computing the concept of culture, and how (sub)cultures are affected by changes in methods of computation is explored. Students will explore how the meaning(s) of culture change or evolve contextually, and how time, mathematics, memes, and networks play a role in cultural evolution.

Delivery Model: CMC

Learning Activities and Evaluation:

Activities consist of on-line (written, asynchronous) team discussion and weekly summaries in response to set discussion questions drawing upon readings and the CMS presentation (60%), and a unit essay exam take individually (40%). This pattern is the same for later blocks in the series, save the last wherein we have a final project done individually.

Texts, Resources & Materials

No standard text required; needed readings are linked on-line

Platform Requirements: PC

NOTE: these outlines are drafts and are subject to change. Official textbook list should be consulted.