The History of Information: From Movable Type to Machine Learning

Information has a history-- and it's not the one you've been told by Silicon Valley. In a series of propulsive, empirically rich, and provocative lectures and discussions, this course deep-dives into the history of information and IT, including moveable type, telegraphy, typewriting, personal computing, gaming, social media, algorithms, machine learning, Digital Humanities, and more. You will leave the course with entirely new perspectives on information, including how IT shapes-- and is shaped by-- culture, nationality, gender, ethnicity, economy, and environment.