Syllabus - Beyond Calculation (IE 162)

Fall Semester 2005

Professor: Mike Erlinger
Office: Olin 1258A
Phone: x-18912
E-mail: mike@cs.hmc.edu

Meeting Times: Tuesday 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Meeting Place: Parsons 1264

Mail lists: ie-162-l@hmc.edu for all issues
Graders: Mike and Class
Secretary: Joyce Greene, Olin 1258, 621-8225,

Course Description

(Catalogue) Description: Students will review the history of computing, the current state of computing, and various predictions of the future of computing. The reviews will encompass social and economic aspects of computing along with the technical. Using these three views of computing and their breath in science and the humanities, the students will produce their own prediction of computing in ten, fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years. This prediction will include all aspects of the computing equation: scientific, economic, and social.

Course Counting

• This course counts as an IE course.
• Can count within the Hum/Soc criteria for concentrations in STS and for elective credit.
• Meets the Hum/Soc department's criteria for a seminar as described in the off-campus seminar form.

Course Contents, This Time

This semester the class will focus on one aspect of Computing...The Internet. We will read papers and books which set the stage for the technical development of the Internet; and investigate the Internet Bubble and other aspects of historical and current life with the Internet. These investigations are meant to understand the reality of the Internet and the fantasy of the Internet Bubble. We then study various future possibilities for the Internet and its impact on society. In all these endeavors we will constantly focus on societal effects.

Books

I have not finished selecting all the books.

• "Inventing the Internet", by Janet Abbate, MIT Press, ISBN: 0-262-01172-7

Course Format

This course is a discussion and seminar course. Thus the success of the course depends on students taking responsibility for investigating the course material and expressing themselves in class discussions, papers, and projects. There will be:

• 3 Critical essays, 3 to 5 pages
• A Group project
• Individual critical paper - 15 pages.
• Students will each lead multiple class discussions.

Course Discussion List

The idea is for this list to motivate discussion for the upcoming class. Myself or a classmate will post some questions for the next class. The idea is for you to READ and THINK about the readings BEFORE coming to class.

Classroom Participation

For each class, designated individuals will be responsible for leading the class discussion parts of the readings, they are the moderators. Also for each class individuals will be responsible for preparing additional questions and issues related to the readings, i.e., adversaries. The rest of the class is responsible for joining the discussions. Besides having done the readings, you need to come to class having thought a little about the topics.

Course Focus

There will be three general focus areas: History of the Internet, Current State of the Internet, and Future of the Internet. We will investigate the Internet at each of these stages including technical, economic, and societal issues. We will try to give equal time to all areas.

Discussion of the Internet from various aspects including, but not limited to: Technical, Economic, and Social. The class discussions will evaluate the history of networking from all three aspects, showing whether (any maybe how) things other than technology have dictated or influenced the direction of the Internet.

Discussion of Current State of the Internet from a current (no more than a 3 year historical perspective) i.e., what in the last 3 years has been most influential on the current state of the Internet. These discussions will be from various aspects including, but not limited to: Technical, Economic, and Social.

The Future of the Internet will also be investigated. There are numerous predictions. We will investigate some through various books, movies, and papers. Again trying to understand more than the technology itself, including who will really be using the advances and how will society in general be affected. Students will do a final seminar level paper on a critical analysis of the future state of some particular aspect of the Internet, e.g., the Internet in the home or educational arena, etc. The topic and time frame need to be discussed and approved by me. Hopefully, during the semester, the class will uncover some aspect of the Internet that perks your interest. These papers must combine all of the aspects covered in the Historical and Current State of the Internet discussions, e.g., scientific, economic, and social. So WAGs (Wide Ass Guess) are not appropriate.

There is also a group project/presentation which can focus on current or historical aspects of the Internet. The project contents and directions must be coordinate with me. The group projects will be chosen in the first 3 lectures with the Group presentations spread over the semester, e.g., weeks 4, 6, 8, etc. The idea is to do group presentations periodically during the semester.

Grading

• 100% - Attendance
  It is difficult to have a discussion course with no students. To get this credit, you need to miss no more than 1 classes during the semester. (Obviously real problems, like being run over by a car, will be treated as an exception).
• 25% - Class Participation
  I realize many students are reluctant to speak up in class, but a discussion course requires discussion. Thus, plan on participating in class or not doing well on this aspect of the course. This aspect of the course also includes your performance as both moderator and adversary.
• 25% - Commentaries
  At various times, you will be asked to write a short paper (3 to 5 pages) that both summarizes and comments on a topic from material outside of the assigned class books. The commentaries will provide an evaluation of your ability to critically read material.
• 25% - Group Project/Presentation
  This project will involve a historical and current look at some segment of society and its use of networking technology. For example, a team might study the use of the Internet in K-12 education, visiting a school, school district office, etc. One key point of such studies determining just how quickly the technology has been/is being integrated.
• 25% - Individual Project/Presentation
  You WILL use the writing center for your individual project, which will focus purely on predicting some aspect of the Internet in 10-20 years. The topic and timeframe must be coordinate with me as the semester progresses. Your paper must consider social and technical aspects of your prediction.

Course Outline

• We will start with a short discussion of the course and then a couple of parts of movies. I want to set the stage for the time it takes to bring products to market; and look at one possible future for us.
• In coming weeks we will look at Abbate's history of the Internet followed by commentaries on the net.

Web Pages

• Think Protocols -Technical Histories of the Internet and other Network Protocols
  http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/dragon/think
• Technologies and Their Societies: Historical Perspectives, Michal Mahoney
  http://www.princeton.edu/~mike/computing.html
• History of Computers, Paul Edwards
  http://www.si.umich.edu/~pne/si588.htm
• Starting point for a lot of historical material.
  http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/index.html
• IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
  http://www.computer.org/pubs/annals/annals.htm
• Computing Ethics
  http://www.computingcases.org
• Computing: history and culture, Jon Agar
  http://www.man.ac.uk/Science_Engineering/CHSTM/teaching/hs2282.htm
• "The Victorian Internet", Tom Standage, Berkeley Book, 1998, ISBN 0-425-17169-8
• "Computer Media and Communication" Paul Mayer, Oxford University Press, 1999, ISBN - 0-19-874257-6
• "What Computers Still Can't Do", H.L. Dreyfus, Harper & Row, 1972.
• "Computer-Related Risks", P.G. Neumann, Addison-Wesley, 1995.
• "The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force US to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom", David Brin, 1998
• "The Fourth Wave: Business in the 21st Century" Herman Bryant Maynard, Susan E. Mehrtens (Contributor), 1996
• Peter Schwartz, "Art of the Long View"
• "Yesterday's Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future", Joseph J. Corn and Brian Horrigan, John Hopkins, 1996, ISBN 0-8018-5399-0,

Mike Erlinger