Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH Advanced Option: History of Technology and Culture in the United States
School	History and Cultures
Department	History
Module Code	09 38803
Module Lead	Dr. Nathan Cardon
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This module examines the history of technological change and innovation in the United States from the eighteenth century to the start of the twenty-first. It calls into question standard narratives of American technological progress and determinism by focussing on the often-contentious relationship between technology, culture, and society. The module emphasises the ways humans shape and are shaped by technological systems to explore how ideologies of power and difference such as race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability have defined the history of the United States. Students will read and mobilise theories of technology and technological change to understand a diversity of perspectives and reveal new insights on the history of technology. Topics may include: indigenous technologies, technology and enslavement, the factory system, transportation technologies, mass production, the space race, computing systems, the Internet and social media.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: analyse and explain key events and historical processes relevant to the subject under scrutiny, analyse and explain reasons for and implications of these events and processes (including analysis of primary evidence where appropriate) compare and evaluate the main scholarly views on the subject under investigation, critically evaluate the historiographical context and trends of the subject under exploration work with an appropriate degree of learner independence to explain and analyse the material under scrutiny summarise, analyse and evaluate the subject material clearly and effectively in writing, synthesise and evaluate themes across a wide range of diverse material
Assessment	38803-01 : 3,000 word take home paper : Exam (School Arranged) - Written Unseen (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: S1 = 1 x 3,000 word essay (100%) S2 = 1 x 3,000 word Take Home Examination (100%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List