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Theme 10 HIS116

History of Science, Technology, and Sosio-Economic Change

One of the first vacuum cleaners by Siemens, 1906.
One of the first vacuum cleaners by Siemens, 1906
Photo:
Pressebilder BSH Hausgeräte GmbH (Wikipedia)

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Theme 10

Course coordinator: Elena Kochetkova

The prominent astronomer, Carl Sagan, once said: “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology” (Sagan, C. Interview. 1996). Technology and science, together in a symbiotic relationship, form powerful motors in modern economies and our daily lives. This will undoubtedly continue in the future. But how well do we understand their agencies in modern societies and economies?

We often consider ourselves progressive people living in modern economies. We can travel overseas, make phone calls to other continents via wireless connections, wear convenient and durable clothing, and eat food which can be stored without refrigeration for weeks – sometimes even years! This ‘we’, however, refers to just a part of the globe. Economies perform differently, leaving some societies at the margins of economic growth, characterised by technological backwardness and vast socio-economic inequalities. Some technologies have, furthermore, been used to darker ends, producing disastrous side effects and hazards. Environmental pollution, the overexploitation of natural resources, nuclear accidents and hypermilitarization have emerged as spillovers of economic development, quite literally posing threats to humanity.

Looking back in history, this course is designed to explore discussions around the many roles of science and technology in economic growth, exploring the historical roots of modern societies and their economies from the 19th century until the present. Among the key questions considered are the following:

How did scientific discoveries and technological inventions trigger or retard economic change and come to constitute modern societies in the last two centuries?

Why do some societies produce numerous scientific discoveries and inventions while others do not perform well technologically and economically?

Who makes decisions on the future of the science and technology defining economic growth?

Examining these questions through the main dimensions of socio-economic change in various geographical regions, this course will interrogate the connections between past, present and future, emphasising economic and technological development as “present continuous” processes. We will discuss scientific discoveries and technological progress together as factors which move the development of societies in the Global North and South, exploring key episodes of the industrial revolution, infrastructural and telecommunication revolutions, and techno-economic colonialism in the ‘long’ 19th century. We will also consider the growth of consumerism, the development of path-breaking technologies during the Cold War and post-colonial development, the rise of atomic energy for wars and industries, and the emergence of green industrialized economies in the ‘short’ 20th century. We will discuss how all of these processes and events have shaped the economic diversity of (un)modern ‘us’ today and, based on this historical expertise, will speculate about the future.

Our classes will be built around traditional and innovative activities, such as lectures, seminars, brainstorming sessions, and work in smaller groups. We will read classic texts and novels, draw on visual historical sources, and discuss qualitative and quantitative approaches.