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STS.092 [Credit: 2-0-7; CI-M]
Spring 2003 Instructor Shane Hamilton Program in Science, Technology & Society E51-070, x3-6979 shamilto@mit.edu 1st Meeting: 4pm, Thursday, Feb. 6, in E51-191
Subject Description: This course will examine the historical dimensions of American industrialization since the mid-19th century, focusing on relationships between technological change and the environment. Readings will explore the meaning of industrialization, showing how the increasing intensity and scale of natural resource use in the 19th and 20th centuries did not develop "naturally," but was driven by political and economic actions that have been structured by cultural and social concerns. Besides exploring the politics of industrialization, this course will probe the meaning of "nature," showing that the environment is not just forests, rivers, or "everything that isn't human," but also includes people, cities, factories, agriculture, fisheries, automobiles, and genetically manipulated plants. A primary goal of the course is to explore not only how technological change has impacted the environment, but also how the environment has shaped technological change.
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