History of American Technology: 1650 - Present ((4 Credits))

Catalog description

Students should be able to describe the evolution of technology in the United States, its origins and its impact on American society. The issues to be examined will include the following: the economy of Native American life, the nature of the colonial economy, the birth of American independence, the industrial revolution, the development of the culture of liberty and free trade, the tension between free and slave labor systems of production, the impact of the Civil War, the industrial system and the rise of the corporation, the history of American agriculture, the political response to industrialization, the birth of a war-time economy, the impact of the Great Depression, the development of telecommunication systems, the automobile and its impact on American life, the rise of the aircraft industry, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and robotics.