SOC430 Culture, Technology & Society
Lead Faculty: Dr. Margaret J. Greer
Course Description
Examines the social, cultural and historical development of technology from the Industrial Revolution to today, and its consequences.
Learning Outcomes
- Explain the impact of the first industrial revolution (steam power) on the organization of work, transportation and the environment.
- Specify the impact of the second industrial revolution (electric power and internal combustion engines) on communications, transportation, consumption, and the environment.
- Clarify the effect of the third industrial revolution (computers) on communications, work, and the production and distribution of knowledge.
- Analyze the positive (e.g., greater efficiency in information storage and retrieval) and negative(e.g., job loss, invasion of privacy) impact of computers on American life.
- Present specific instances(e.g., the introduction of the telegraph and the telephone) in which communications media transformed the human perception of time and space.
- Research a paper using on-line computer resources and databases (e.g., Biblos, Internet, Prodigy, America On-Line).
