Cultures of Computing
MIT's anthropology course treats computers as cultural artifacts rather than neutral tools. Readings pair classic computer science texts with cultural histories, tracing automata and early automation through capitalist manufacturing, WWII-era cybernetics and operations research, and the rise of artificial intelligence. Later weeks cover robots, cyborgs, and artificial life, the commercialization of the personal computer, the Internet's roots as a military and academic project, and hacker and gaming subcultures. Throughout, the course asks how gender and other social differences shape labor practices, models of cognition, and online sociality. Materials include the full reading list and syllabus as published on MIT OpenCourseWare, free to access with no certificate offered. The approach suits students interested in science and technology studies as much as those interested in computing history itself.