UNSW Handbook Course - Technology and Culture

Technology and Culture - HPSC3300


	Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
	School: School of History and Philosophy
	Course Outline: See below
	Campus: Kensington Campus
	Career: Undergraduate
	Units of Credit: 6
	EFTSL: 0.125 (more info)
	Contact Hours per Week: 3
	Enrolment Requirements:
	Prerequisite: 36 units of credit
	Excluded: SCTS3900
	Fee Band: 1 (more info)
	Further Information: See Class Timetable

Description

Explores issues in the history, philosophy and sociology of technology at advanced level. Issues will be drawn from: technology and everyday life; technological determinism and change; ways of being with technology; the development of technological systems; the social construction of technology; actor-network theory; risk and trust; technology and gender; citizen participation and strategies for technological reform. Emphasis is placed on developing disciplinary skills and literacy required for higher level research in the field.

Learning Outcomes

In this course students will:

Develop a more advanced theoretical understanding of the relations between technology and society relations, and learn to apply these theories to complex historical examples of technological change
In a series of case studies discussed in seminar format, students will gain an in-depth familiarity with issues surrounding key infrastructure technologies that define the modern world
Gain in their capacity for independent critical thinking and research, based in history and other evidence sources, into the possibilities and mechanisms of social change today.

Assessment

Reading and seminar discussion journal, two parts - 50% (25% each)
Seminar short essay (1500 words) - 20%
Research essay (3000 words) - 30%

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