58吃瓜

MO3366 Technology and Society since 1750

Academic year

2026 to 2027 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 9

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Planned timetable

To be confirmed

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Prof A K Fyfe

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Prof Aileen Fyfe

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

From the steam engine to the internet, new technologies have transformed the ways people all over the world live and work. This module will introduce you to the ways that historians study some of these technologies and their larger social, economic, and political contexts. We will explore the processes of invention and adoption of new technologies; the ways in which users incorporate technologies into their lives; and the surprisingly different implications that technologies can have when they are used in very different places or situations. You will learn about the key theories developed by historians and sociologists to understand technology; and will learn to use historical source material to explore how people at the time understood new technologies.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE THE STUDENT SHOULD HAVE SATISFIED ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR HONOURS HISTORY OR MODERN HISTORY

Anti-requisites

YOU CANNOT TAKE THIS MODULE IF YOU TAKE MO4930 OR PASS MO4930

Assessment pattern

60% coursework, 40% take-home examination in exam diet

Re-assessment

100% coursework

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

2 hours of seminars (x10 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

33

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

255

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • 鈥� Summarise the history of the invention, adoption and use of key technologies
  • 鈥� Give examples of the ways in which technological innovation and development has been affected by the wider socio-cultural context
  • 鈥� Explain, with examples, how people are affected differently by the same technologies, owing to their race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, socioeconomic status, or intersections of these categories
  • 鈥� Critique the narratives of technological progress offered by both historians and historical actors
  • 鈥� Explain and critique what is meant by 鈥榯echnological determinism鈥� and 鈥榮ocial construction of technology鈥�