Technology, Culture, and Communication

TCC 200 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Technology and Society
Relates technology or engineering to the broader culture. The specific subject will differ from time to time.

TCC 201 - (3) (IR)
Thomas Jefferson's Interests in Science and Technology
Prerequisite: TCC 101 or permission of instructor
Introduces Jefferson's use of scientific thinking in his major accomplishments and efforts to influence public policy, agriculture, education, invention, architecture, and religion. Readings in his writings, class discussions, guest lectures and field visits to local centers of Jefferson research. Short papers, in-class presentations, and a research paper required.

TCC 203 - (3) (Y)
Man and Machine: Visions of Tyranny and Freedom in 19th- and 20th-Century Literature
Prerequisite: TCC 101
Analysis of attitudes toward the problem of the machine and technological advances in modern civilization, as reflected in selected American and European writings and films. Discussions, oral presentations, papers, and a final exam.

TCC 204 - (3) (Y)
Technology, Aggression, and Peace
Prerequisite: TCC 101
A study of the human potential for aggression and the relationship of technology to this potential. Students read and discuss a variety of theories about human behavior and the destructive impulse in mankind. Short essays, a research paper, group projects, and oral presentations enable students to build and practice communications skills.

TCC 206 - (3) (IR)
American Environmental History
Prerequisite: TCC 101, ENWR 101, or equivalent
Explores the historical relationship between people and the environment in North America from colonial times to the present. Topics include the role of culture, economics, politics, and technology in that relationship.

TCC 207 - (3) (Y)
Utopias and the Technological Society
Prerequisite: TCC 101
Lectures, readings, and discussions compare earlier and modern designs of the ideal society, stressing the relationship of their basic technologies to historical reality. Such writers as Plato, Thomas More, and Aldous Huxley are considered. Students give oral presentations, write short papers, and design a personal utopia.

TCC 208 - (3) (IR)
History of Flight
Prerequisite: TCC 101
Explores the development of flight from the earliest historical records of man's interest in flying through the achievements of the space age. Emphasizes the social and cultural impacts of flight, advances in technology, and the significance of the contribution of individuals. Guest lectures, film showings, visits to aviation museums, and student reports and projects supplement regular classroom lecture and discussion.

TCC 209 - (3) (IR)
The History of Space Flight
Prerequisite: TCC 101
Explores the history of space flight, from man's earliest interests in rockets through the most recent developments in aerospace technology. Examines the contributions of various scientists, engineers, and inventors to space travel; the major eras of aerospace history and the impacts of U.S. and international space programs on society.

TCC 210 - (3) (Y)
Technology and Social Change in 19th-Century America
Prerequisite: TCC 101
A study of the impacts of nineteenth-century American industrial development on the community, the worker, and engineering. Students make oral and written presentations, write short papers, and a research paper.

TCC 211 - (3) (IR)
Values of Professionals
Prerequisite: TCC 101
Examines the ways technical and non-technical professionals attribute worth to an idea, action, or object. Develops the student's abilities to discern, in the values typical of specific occupations, elements of the job (monetary gain), the calling (service and self- fulfillment), and the profession (conformity to "guild" standards). Representative literature is read and discussed; each student is expected to speak and write articulately about values issues and to conduct elementary research in the topic.

TCC 212 - (3) (IR)
Religion and Technology
Prerequisite: TCC 101
A historical examination of (1) the role of religion in the early development of technology, (2) technology as a secular substitute for religion, and (3) religious critiques of contemporary technological society. Equal time spent on lectures, student-led discussions of the readings, and student oral presentations. Short papers and a major research project on a particular denomination's or congregation's attitudes toward technology-related issues.

TCC 213 - (3) (IR)
American Technological and Industrial History in the Twentieth Century
Prerequisite: TCC 101
A survey of the technological, business, and economic history of the U. S. from the 1860s to the 1980s. Focuses on key industries (railroads, autos, computers), corporate structures and functions, government intervention in the economy, and popular attitudes toward technological change.

TCC 214 - (3) (IR)
Technology in the News Media
Prerequisite: TCC 101
A study of the ways past and present journalistic media have presented and evaluated innovative technologies. Shows how the strategy and style of media coverage are shaped by--and in turn help shape--general cultural and social ideas. Lectures; discussions of readings; analysis of examples of technology journalism; and a research paper on the continuing efforts of a specific news source.

TCC 300 - (3) (IR)
Advanced Topics in Technology and Culture
Prerequisites: TCC 101 and six credits of general education electives
Specific topics vary. Fulfills TCC 2__ writing and speaking requirements.

TCC 301 - (1) (S)
Topics in Science, Technology, and Culture
For students who wish to pursue social and historical studies of science and technology by supplementing existing undergraduate courses with additional research assignments. Generally taken by students wishing to fulfill the requirements for the minor in the history of science and technology.

TCC 303 - (3) (SI)
The Presentation of Technical Information
Prerequisite: TCC 101 or ENWR 101 or permission of instructor
The principles of adapting scientific and technical information for communication in various media and for a variety of audiences and purposes.

TCC 305 - (3) (SI)
Readings in the Literature of Science and Technology
Prerequisite: TCC 101 or ENWR 101 or permission of instructor
Readings in scientific and philosophical texts and discussions of the nature of scientific and technological thought. Panel discussions on new technologies and their intellectual and social impacts are conducted by the students.

TCC 311 - (3) (SI)
Readings in the History of Science and Technology
Prerequisite: TCC 101 or ENWR 101 or permission of instructor
Readings and discussion of selected works in the classic writings of engineers and scientists from the earliest records to the Renaissance.

TCC 312 - (3) (IR)
History of Technology and Invention
Prerequisite: TCC 101 or ENWR 101 or permission of instructor
Overview of advances of technological knowledge through the ages. Topics include the achievements of Egypt, Greece, and Rome; the beginnings of the concept of a labor-saving device in the middle ages; the technological background of the Industrial Revolution; the recent role of technology in shaping modern society.

TCC 313 - (3) (Y)
Scientific and Technological Thinking
Prerequisite: TCC 101 or ENWR 101 or permission of instructor
Explores the ways scientists and inventors think, using concepts, theories and methods borrowed from several disciplines, but focusing especially on psychology. Topics include experimental simulations of scientific reasoning, a cognitive framework for understanding creativity and modeling discovery on a computer. Students read and discuss articles and excerpts in class and conduct a short research project. Fulfills TCC 2__ writing and speaking requirements.

TCC 315 - (3) (Y)
Invention and Design
Prerequisite: TCC 101 or ENWR 101 or permission of instructor
The goal of this course is to help students understand the way in which technology is created and improved, and also to make them into better designers. Creates a collaborative learning environment, in which multi-disciplinary teams invent and design several modules that emulate problems like the invention of the telephone or the design of an expert system. Readings from psychology, history, computing, ethics and engineering accompany the modules. Students keep design notebooks, present the results of team projects and write an integrative paper in which they discuss invention and design and reflect writing and speaking requirements. Fulfills TCC 2__ writing and speaking requirements. Cross-listed as PSYC 419.

TCC 395 - (1-3) (SI)
Independent Study: Technology in Culture
Prerequisites: TCC 101, TCC 2__, and permission of instructor
Special tutorial with a topic declared in advance. Limited to undergraduate SEAS students with third- or fourth-year standing. Not to substitute for TCC 401, TCC 402. The topic, work plan, and conditions are arranged by contract between instructor and student, approved by the division chair, with a copy to be filed in the division office.

TCC 401 - (3) (S, SS)
Western Technology and Culture
Prerequisite: A 200-level TCC course or permission of instructor
A historical perspective is presented, in readings, films, and discussions, on Western civilization's views of technology. The undergraduate thesis project, which is initiated in this course, emphasizes (1) oral and written communications at a professional level, and (2) the role of social constraints and ethical obligations in engineering practice.

TCC 402 - (3) (S, SS)
The Engineer in Society
Prerequisite: TCC 401
Readings on, and discussions of, various kinds of valuing (social, institutional, scientific, intellectual, and personal) characteristic of professional work in engineering and applied science in modern technological society. The thesis project technical report is completed. Students continue consideration of indirect and unintended impacts of new technology and of health and safety issues.

TCC 403 - (1) (SS)
Research Proposal Writing
A course in technical and scientific communication for students entering the accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program. Offered in the summer session between the sixth and seventh semesters. Part of the required undergraduate humanities sequence for students in the accelerated program.

TCC 501 - (3) (Y)
Perceptions of Technology in the Western World
Prerequisite: Open only to students in the accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Program
Fall semester. May be taken in either fourth or fifth year of the student's program. Seminars exploring the role of technology in the western world, based on assigned readings in the history, philosophy, or culture of technology.

TCC 502 - (2) (Y)
Thesis and Research Presentation
Prerequisite: Open only to students in the tenth semester of the accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Program
Spring semester. Seminars, lectures, discussions related to research writing, leading to completion of the master's thesis (or project in departments not requiring a thesis). Topics include organization and style in thesis writing with attention to logical, rhetorical and ethical issues in science and engineering research writing.

TCC 600 - (3) (Y)
Effective Technical Communication
Prerequisites: Graduate student status; permission of instructor
Study and practice in effective presentation of technical information in both written and oral form. Organizing for small- and large-scale presentations: summaries, proposals, scientific and technical reports, theses and dissertations, and articles for publication. Review of conventions of technical style and essentials of grammar and syntax. Assignments to be drawn from the student's thesis or other research where possible. Course does not offer instruction in remedial English or English as a second language.

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