This calendar provides the course’s lecture topics, readings, and assignment due dates. While the first half of the course is focused on lectures, a significant portion of the second half is devoted to in-class group work, where students are divided into groups to work on term projects.
| SES # | TOPICS / READINGS |
|---|---|
| I. Introduction and Background | |
| 1 | Introduction, Course Overview |
| II. Engineers in Action | |
| 2 | Reading: Latour, Bruno. Science in Action. Introduction, and chapter 3, pp. 1-17 and 103-144. |
| 3 | Reading: Latour, Bruno. Science in Action. Chapters 4-6, pp. 145-259. |
| III. The Construction of Technological Systems | |
| 4 | Reading: Mindell. “Opening Black’s Box: Rethinking Feedback’s Myth of Origin.” |
| IV. Invention and Engineering Culture | |
| 5 | Reading: MacKenzie, Donald. Inventing Accuracy. Chapters 1-2. |
| 6 |
Reading: MacKenzie, Donald. Inventing Accuracy. Chapters 4, 7, and 8. Assignment Due: Response Paper #1 |
| V. Innovation and Marketplace | |
| 7 | Reading: Christensen, Clayton M. The Inventor’s Dilemma. Chapters 1, 2, 4, 9, and 11. |
| 8 | Reading: Discussion of Methodology, Research Methods, Library, Techniques, Source Materials, etc. |
| VI. Using Sources Effectively | |
| 9 |
Lab Notebooks and Project Documentation: Meet in MIT Archives, Introduction to Edgerton/Forrester Notebooks Assignment Due: Response Paper #2 |
| VII. Group Work and Collaborative Writing | |
| 10 | Presentation: “Working Effectively in Groups.” In-Class Group Work |
| 11 |
In-Class Group Work, Presentation of Project History Proposals, Discussion and Ranking Assignment Due: Individual Project History Proposals |
| VIII. Project History Work | |
| 12 | In-Class Group Work |
| 13 | In-Class Group Work |
| IX. Visual Materials and Argumentation | |
| 14 | Reading: Tufte, Edward. Visual and Statistical Thinking. |
| 15 | In-Class Group Work |
| X. Understanding Patents | |
| 16 | Presentation: “How to Read a Patent.” In-Class Group Work |
| 17 |
In-Class Group Work Assignment Due: Visual Argumentation Exercise |
| XI. Project Histories | |
| 18 |
In-Class Group Work Assignment Due: Group Proposal/Plan of Project History |
| 19 | In-Class Group Work |
| 20 | In-Class Group Work |
| 21 | In-Class Group Work |
| 22 | In-Class Group Work |
| XII. Final Preparations | |
| 23 | Presentation Rehearsals |
| 24 |
Presentation Rehearsals Assignment Due: Written Draft for Groups Presenting |
| XIII. Presentations of Project Histories | |
| 25 | Group Presentation of Project Histories |
| 26 | Group Presentation of Project Histories |
Final Projects due two days after the last session.
