- Department: History
- Module co-ordinator: Dr. Richard Brown
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: M
- Academic year of delivery: 2020-21
Artificial intelligence, online shopping, algorithms, robots, drone warfare, driverless cars – we are constantly told that we live in a high-tech world where technological innovation will inevitably change the ways we live. But is that actually true? Throughout human history people have made grand promises about the changes new technologies would bring: nuclear power was supposed to bring limitless cheap and clean electricity, insecticides were supposed to end world hunger, robots were supposed to steal our jobs (and they still might). Technology has certainly shaped human history – but not always in the ways we might expect.
In this module we will explore history of technology between the late 19th and late 20th centuries, a time when it has been claimed that the world underwent several ¿technological revolutions’, and think critically about the role it has played in recent history – not just in Britain, but globally. After an introductory session in which we consider different ways of thinking about how ‘technologies’ interact with the world, we explore a number of case studies, ranging from the significance of the telegraph in the British Empire, to Second World War scientific battles, to the promises and problems of postwar nuclear power. Through exploring these past innovations, we will examine the interactions between technologies and major historical themes, such as gender, imperialism, power and politics. The focus throughout is on technologies in their historical contexts: what meanings they had to people of the time and how this could change; how these historical and social contexts helped to drive technical developments in particular directions; and the impact that these technologies had on the world, socially, economically, and politically.
Occurrence | Teaching cycle |
---|---|
A | Spring Term 2020-21 |
The module aims to:
After completing this module students should have:
This module will be co-convened by Dr Richard Brown and Dr Thomas Lean.
Teaching Programme:
Students will attend eight weekly two-hour seminars in weeks 2-9.
The provisional outline for the module is as follows:
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Essay 4,000 words |
N/A | 100 |
None
Students will complete a 2,000-word procedural essay for formative assessment, due in week 6 of the spring term, for which they will receive an individual tutorial. They will then submit a 4,000-word assessed essay for summative assessment in week 1 of the summer term.
For further details about assessed work, students should refer to the Taught Masters Degrees Statement of Assessment.
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Essay 4,000 words |
N/A | 100 |
Following their formative assessment task, students will receive written feedback consisting of comments and a mark within 10 working days of submission. All students are encouraged, if they wish, to discuss the feedback on their procedural work during their tutor’s student hours. For more information, see the Statement on Feedback.
For the summative assessment task, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 20 working days of the submission deadline. The tutor will then be available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For more information, see the Statement of Assessment.
For term time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the course starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading: