HIST 380 and HUM 380: Test Post for Comments
Before our next class, please post a comment on this blog entry to ensure that you have no difficulties posting. You do not need to use your real name if you do not wish to, but if you choose a pseudonym be sure to stick with it for the rest of the semester.
For your comment, please write one sentence on something we’ve covered in class so far that you found interesting. Please post your comments no later than 5pm on January 26th.
I found it interesting that China has outlawed informing the parents about the sex of their offspring in order to attempt to reduce the rate of sex-selective abortion.
The idea that certain technologies inherently encourage, or even require for existence, a specific mode of sociopolitical structure within a given society, was to me slightly disturbing; I have always felt strongly that more funding should be put towards obtaining nuclear fusion as a solution to the globe’s appetite for energy, but perhaps this strategy (if even technically viable) is fundamentally flawed in that it would result in a society intimately bound to centralized conglomerations of political and economic power.
I found the discussion of pubic health and freedom as the fundamental values of the American people.
I was suprised by the level of misogny/discrimination in the sciences.
I found it interesting that racial segregation was used in the architecture of New York City.Thus by designing the bridges lower kept away buses that carried low income people away, from wealthy areas
One thing I have found interesting in the class over the material that we covered is how Winner links technology and rascism. Just in general that technology built may serve and have been built for other purposes.
I am finding this class interesting because it introduce me to deeper motives behind introduction of technologies. I never quite thought about it this way but now that I did, I can see where they are coming from. The idea that technology is forming certain orders in our society by making users adapt to them knowingly or unknowingly is very intriguing.
I found it very interesting how closely intertwined technology is with politics and power. It is often times not an idea that is associated with technology, but technology gives some individuals power over others, creating a disunity in society, and resulting in social and economic classes.
I found the socially camouflaged technologies discussion interesting because it got me thinking about what other types of technologies are out there that are being camouflaged.
What I found interesting is the fact that the Amish community doesn’t disregard all of modren technology, but instead use what they will feel is necessary to keep their businesses productive and reject anything that would potentially harm the community.
I was interested in the ways in which the Amish hackers got around their access to limited resources.
I found the topic of US corn subsidization and how it led to a surplus, causing changes in the American food makeup interesting. I was not aware that the increase in HFCS and ethanol were due to this…
I thought that it was interesting that GM bought railways so that they could close them down in order to cause people to buy for cars.
Is excited to learn more about science and technology!
I found it interesting that technology seems to serve as a means for control and not so much as an advancement for humanity’s quality of life.
I found that HIST 380-06:Gender and Technological Change is interesting. It feels like sitting in HIST class, but it’s about technology and Gender.
I have enjoyed the readings that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have sought out on my own, and I’ve been interested in the other points of view that have been shared in class.
It was interesting how the Amish accepted using technologies from outside their communities as long as they didn’t affect their social lives.
I have thought the class discussion have been interesting never thought much really about how technology could be so relative to gender, the social camouflage reading and discussion was the most interesting to me yet I never realize how much of it we have it our society.
When discussing Amish technologies, I realized how intertwined technology is with our lives and how devoid of choice we are when it comes to using technology. We are required to use cell phones, internet and so on, and deciding not to is hardly an option if one wish to be a part of society.
I really enjoyed the discussion on socially camouflaged technologies that existed or even still exist, and even more so finding the patterns in why they are created.
One of the things that I am enjoying very much about this class is discovering how closely power and technology are intertwined and I am excited to discover more.
I thought the reading on inter-sexed babies was quite interesting on how the process of determining the sex of the baby was very contradictory to one other.