Topics in Medieval Japanese History
This book differs from many other textbooks in that it contains relatively less political, institutional and military history and relatively more social and cultural history than is typically the case. Within the cultural history of medieval Japan, Buddhism is of the utmost importance. This book therefore contains an introduction to the origin and major teachings of Buddhism. Subsequent chapters expand on this introduction in the context of Japanese history.
STS.340J Introduction to the History of Technology (MIT)
This course is an introduction to the consideration of technology as the outcome of particular technical, historical, cultural, and political efforts, especially in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include industrialization of production and consumption, development of engineering professions, the emergence of management and its role in shaping technological forms, the technological construction of gender roles, and the relationship between humans and machines.
Topics in Modern East Asian History
The overall purpose of this textbook is to survey the major events of modern Chinese and Japanese history. Sometimes this survey takes the form of an old-fashioned, straightforward narrative. Whenever possible, however, the author seeks to examine history through topics that rarely receive much attention in standard textbooks. Furthermore, many of the topics discussed in subsequent chapters shed light on matters of broad significance to the study of human affairs.
Topics in Japanese Cultural History
The book began in 1992 as a hastily-compiled set of visual aids for an introductory course in East Asia at Eastern Washington University. Over the course of eight major revisions at EWU, it gradually developed into its present form: a series of graphically-rich, privately-produced textbooks.
21M.262 Modern Music: 1900-1960 (MIT)
This subject covers a specific branch of music history: Western concert music of first sixty years of the twentieth century. Although we will be listening to and studying many pieces (most of the highest caliber) the goal of the course is not solely to build up a repertory of works in our memory (though that is indeed a goal). We will be most concerned with larger questions of continuity and change in music. We will also consider questions of reception, or historiography - that is, the creation
STS.038 Energy and Environment in American History: 1705-2005 (MIT)
A survey of how America has become the world's largest consumer of energy. Explores American history from the perspective of energy and its relationship to politics, diplomacy, the economy, science and technology, labor, culture, and the environment. Topics include muscle and water power in early America, coal and the Industrial Revolution, electrification, energy consumption in the home, oil and U.S. foreign policy, automobiles and suburbanization, nuclear power, OPEC and the 70's energy crisis
21H.522 Japan in the Age of the Samurai: History and Film (MIT)
This course covers medieval Japanese society and culture from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries, when political power rested largely in the hands of feudal warriors. Topics include religion (especially Zen Buddhism); changing concepts of "the way of the warrior;" women under feudalism; popular culture; and protest and rebellion. Presentations include weekly feature films. Assigned readings include many literary writings in translation.
21H.221 The Places of Migration in United States History (MIT)
This course examines the history of the United States as a "nation of immigrants" within a broader global context. It considers migration from the mid-19th century to the present through case studies of such places as New York's Lower East Side, South Texas, Florida, and San Francisco's Chinatown. It also examines the role of memory, media, and popular culture in shaping ideas about migration. The course includes optional field trip to New York City.
12.215 Modern Navigation (MIT)
This course introduces the concepts and applications of navigation techniques using celestial bodies and satellite positioning systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). Topics include astronomical observations, radio navigation systems, the relationship between conventional navigation results and those obtained from GPS, and the effects of the security systems, Selective Availability, and anti-spoofing on GPS results. Laboratory sessions cover the use of sextants, astronomical telesco
21H.571 The Making of Modern South Asia (MIT)
Survey of Indian civilization from 2500 BC to present-day. Traces major political events as well as economic, social, ecological, and cultural developments. Primary and secondary readings enhance understanding of this unique civilization, and shape and improve understanding in analyzing and interpreting historical data. Examines major thematic debates in Indian history through class discussion.
21H.914 Jewish History from Biblical to Modern Times (MIT)
This course explores how our views of Jewish history have been formed and how this history can explain the survival of the Jews as an ethnic/religious group into the present day. Special attention is given to the partial and fragmentary nature of our information about the past, and the difficulties inherent in decoding statements about the past that were written with a religious agenda in mind. It also considers complex events in Jewish history -- from early history as portrayed in the Bible to
HST.161 Molecular Biology and Genetics in Modern Medicine (MIT)
This course provides a foundation for understanding the relationship between molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, and medicine. It develops explicit connections between basic research, medical understanding, and the perspective of patients. Principles of human genetics are reviewed. We translate clinical understanding into analysis at the level of the gene, chromosome and molecule; we cover the concepts and techniques of molecular biology and genomics, an
STS.003 The Rise of Modern Science (MIT)
This course studies the development of modern science from the seventeenth century to the present, focusing on Europe and the United States. Key questions include: What is science, and how is it done? How are discoveries made and accepted? What is the nature of scientific progress? What is the impact of science on society? What is the impact of society on science? Topics will be drawn from the histories of physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, and medicine.AcknowledgementThis class is based o
STS.036 Technology and Nature in American History (MIT)
This course considers how the visual and material world of "nature" has been reshaped by industrial practices, ideologies, and institutions, particularly in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. Topics include land-use patterns; the changing shape of cities and farms; the redesign of water systems; the construction of roads, dams, bridges, irrigation systems; the creation of national parks; ideas about wilderness; and the role of nature in an industrial world. From small farms to suburbia,
15.225 Economy and Business in Modern China and India (MIT)
As markets or production bases, China and India are becoming important and integral players in the global economy. Foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio investments and outsourcing businesses have increased dramatically in these two economies. Despite the rising importance of these two economies on the world stage, our knowledge and analysis of these two countries in an integrated manner has remained poor. The two are often lumped together by business analysts as "emerging markets," despite
21L.703 Studies in Drama: Too Hot to Handle: Forbidden Plays in Modern America (MIT)
Unlike film, theater in America does not have a ratings board that censors content. So plays have had more freedom to explore and to transgress normative culture. Yet censorship of the theater has been part of American culture from the beginning, and continues today. How and why does this happen, and who decides whether a play is too dangerous to see or to teach? Are plays dangerous? Sinful? Even demonic? In our seminar, we will study plays that have been censored, either legally or extra-legall
14.731 Economic History (MIT)
This course is a survey of world economic history, and it introduces economics students to the subject matter and methodology of economic history. It is designed to expand the range of empirical settings in students' research by drawing upon historical material and long-run data. Topics are chosen to show a wide variety of historical experience and illuminate the process of industrialization. The emphasis will be on questions related to labor markets and economic growth.
4.696 A Global History of Architecture Writing Seminar (MIT)
This course will study the question of Global Architecture from the point of view of producing a set of lectures on that subject. The course will be run in the form of a writing seminar, except that students will be asked to prepare for the final class an hour-long lecture for an undergraduate survey course. During the semester, students will study the debates about where to locate "the global" and do some comparative analysis of various textbooks. The topic of the final lecture will be worked o
STS.330J History and Anthropology of Medicine and Biology (MIT)
This course explores recent historical and anthropological approaches to the study of life, in both medicine and biology. After grounding our conversation in accounts of natural history and medicine that predate the rise of biology as a discipline, we explore modes of theorizing historical and contemporary bioscience. Drawing on the work of historian William Coleman, we examine the forms, functions, and transformations of biological and medical objects of study. Along the way we treat the histor
3.A04 Modern Blacksmithing and Physical Metallurgy (MIT)
Physical metallurgy encompasses the relationships between the composition, structure, processing history and properties of metallic materials. In this seminar you'll be introduced to metallurgy in a particularly "physical" way. We will do blacksmithing, metal casting, machining, and welding, using both traditional and modern methods. The seminar meets once per week for an evening laboratory session, and once per week for discussion of issues in materials science and engineering that ti
