Instructor: Dr. Pamela E. Mack

Contact information:

• Class meets MWF 11:15-12:05 in Hardin 100
  
• Email: pammack@clemson.edu (I try to respond to emails within 24 hours on class days)
• preferred form of address: Prof. Mack or Dr. Mack
  
• Office Hours: MWF 8-11, Wed. 1:00 - 2:15 and by appointment in Hardin 006 (basement level)
• This course will use Canvas:
• Canvas guides: http://guides.instructure.com/
• Teaching assistants:
• Mikkaela Bailey, mikkaeb@clemson.edu, office hours Mon. 2:30-3:30 and Friday 10-11 in Hardin 001
• Daniel Thrift, djthrif@clemson.edu, office hours MW 12:15-1 in Hardin 001

• Demonstrate an understanding of issues created by the complex interactions among science, technology, and society
  
• examine the impact of technology on society and discuss to what extent technology can change history
• assess how social forces shape the development of technology
• analyze the issues they will face as citizens in a technological world
• Demonstrate an understanding of social science methodologies in order to explain the causes and consequences of human actions
  
• evaluate historical information
• analyze the different approaches taken by historians
  
• write analytically on topics related to these objectives

• two in-class exams                       15%   each
  
• quizzes                                         10%    (after dropping the lowest grade)
  
• discussion board                          10%    (after dropping the lowest grade)
  
• Daily survey responses                  5%    (10 grades will be dropped)
  
• argument paper                            25%
• final exam                                    20%  

Discussion board questions (db) will be posted at least a week before they are due.  You must go to the discussion board for your group to find the questions (you will be assigned to one of four groups during the first full week of classes). This is a required assignment for the course, rather like the journals some other courses assign.   The goal of the Blackboard discussion is to allow more discussion of the reading and the lectures than is possible in class and to provide opportunities to connect what you learn in class with outside lectures and movies. After you post your comment in any given discussion, you can read postings by others. 

Your participation in this system will be graded from 1 to 10 on the basis both of quality and quantity. Contributions to the internet discussion should be thoughtful comments on the assignment, at least 250 words long (we will not grade shorter ones).  To get an 9 or 10 you need to say something worthwhile about the question.  Your response should be organized and clearly written and should bring new information to the discussion.  Some of that new information can be personal experience, but some must be from the reading or film or lecture assigned.  You may use outside sources as well if you wish, but they must be cited.  There will be 11 discussions and I will drop the lowest grade.  You will get only one grade per topic, but if you write more than one post on a topic all your posts will be taken into account in deciding your grade for the topic.  Posts after the deadline for that topic will receive no credit. 

It is cheating to cut and paste or otherwise copy portions of a argument paper, exam, or discussion board posting from a book, web site, or from the online class notes, unless you quote and give the source. Changing a few words is not sufficient to make the material your own. It is poor writing for more than about 20% of your paper to consist of quotes.  In most cases when you use specific material from any source you should paraphrase: cite the source and put the ideas into you own words (generally no more than 5 consecutive words should match the source but if the words are mostly the same it could still be plagiarism even if there aren't 5 consecutive words).

• The fundamental expectation for laptops, tablets, and smart phones in this course is that you may use your laptop in class, with the sound off, only for tasks directly related to this course.  In addition to tasks the professor asks you to do on your laptop, you may use it to take notes or to browse to web sites related to the material being discussed in class.  Do not email, instant message, chat, do homework, download music, look at Facebook, or play games during class.  Students using their computers for non-class related purposes will receive a warning by email after class.  Every two warnings will count as one absence. 
  
• Talking during class and wearing headphones are also prohibited.  If you can work better if you listen to music on headphones during a test please negotiate this in advance with the instructor.  Students violating this rule will receive a warning by email after class.  Every two warnings will count as one absence. 

General Education: This course meets the Social Science and STS general education requirements, and your argument paper is the artifact that demonstrates that.  The competencies are:

• Science, Technology, and Society - Demonstrate an understanding of issues created by the complex interactions among science, technology, and society.
• Social Sciences - Demonstrate an understanding of social science methodologies in order to explain the causes and consequences of human actions.

Eric Hobsbawm, Industry and Empire: The Birth of the Industrial Revolution (make sure to get the 1999 edition, not the 1968 edition)
John H. Lienhard, Inventing Modern: Growing Up with X-rays, Skyscrapers, and Tailfins
David E. Nye, Technology Matters : Questions to Live With

Class Schedule: