At the end of this course, the students; 1) will be able to trace the development of the United States of America into a global super-power by means of science and technology, 2) will be able to discuss how technological development is linked to issues of American identity, 3) will be able to discuss how science and technology have influenced American political thought, giving way to notions such as ideological supremacy, 4) will be able to discuss the interrelationships between scientific thought, technological development, and intellectual movements such as Modernism, 5) will be able to survey the responses of American writers to technological development, both positive and negative.
MODE OF DELIVERY
Face to face
PRE-REQUISITES OF THE COURSE
No
RECOMMENDED OPTIONAL PROGRAMME COMPONENT
None
COURSE DEFINITION
Directed readings into the relation of scientific institutions and thought, and technological systems and productions to social and economic conditions and changes, political events and intellectual movements with particular reference to the twentieth century.
COURSE CONTENTS
WEEK
TOPICS
1st Week
Introduction: Technology and Human Values
2nd Week
Engineering and Society: The Industrial Revolution in Europe and America
3rd Week
Mass production in Early Twentieth Century America
4th Week
Politics of Science: American Political Thought in the Twentieth Century
5th Week
Politics of Science: American Political Thought in the Twentieth Century
6th Week
Student Presentations
7th Week
Student Presentations
8th Week
Machine Age America in Fiction and Film
9th Week
Machine Age America in Fiction and Film
10th Week
Scientific and Environmental Controversies
11th Week
Scientific and Environmental Controversies
12th Week
Globalization and Competitiveness: Science, Technology, and Economics
13th Week
Student Presentations
14th Week
Student Presentations
RECOMENDED OR REQUIRED READING
Barthes, Roland. The Eiffel Tower and Other Mythologies. Berkeley: U of California P, 1977.
Hughes, Robert. The Shock of The New. London: BBC, 1991.
Kenner, Hugh. The Pound Era. Berkeley: U of California P, 1975.
Lears, Jackson. No Place of Grace: Antimodernism and the Transformation of American Culture 1880-1920. New York: Pantheon, 1981.
Martin, Ronald E. American Literature and The Universe of Force. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1991.
Marx, Leo. The Machine in the Garden. New York: Oxford UP, 1967.
Peterfreund, Stuart, ed. Literature and Science: Theory and Practice. Boston: Northeastern UP, 1990.
Tabbi, Joseph. Postmodern Sublime: Technology and American Writing from Mailer to Cyberpunk. Ithaca and London: Cornell UP, 1995.
Tichi, Cecelia. Shifting Gears: Technology, Literature and Culture in Modernist America. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1987.
PLANNED LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING METHODS
Lecture,Discussion,Presentation
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA
Quantity
Percentage(%)
Project
1
30
Attendance
1
10
Presentation of Article
2
20
Total(%)
60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)
60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)
40
Total(%)
100
ECTS WORKLOAD
Activities
Number
Hours
Workload
Midterm exam
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work
14
5
70
Preparation for Final exam
1
10
10
Course hours
14
3
42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam
1
3
3
Homework
Project
1
60
60
Article Presentation
2
25
50
Weekly Articles and Resource Research
14
5
70
Total Workload
305
Total Workload / 30
10,16
ECTS Credits of the Course
10
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
English
WORK PLACEMENT(S)
No
KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES (KLO) / MATRIX OF LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO)