HOWTO Study Computing Anthropologically?
Tue, Jan 23
In this class we will shift gears and start discussing the methodological steps we need to take in anthropology to analyze the digital (and sometimes material) artifacts of computer hacking!
We will return to the analysis of the "hacker ethic" and discuss an important artifact for the early hardware hacker community, the Apple 1 computer kit. First, we will learn to contextualize the digital artifact, examine its conditions of possibility, its connections with the so-called "hacker ethic," its associated community and context, and, then, proceed to examine its social and cultural consequences by asking a fundamental question: what is the role that a particular artifact (say, a prototype of a personal computer) plays in organizing or reorganizing our social lives? Turns out, it had a huge impact and we will examine this impact by looking at its history. That will help us as we turn next week to the study of research methods in computer science (for the investigation of hacking).
By the end of this class, you will:
- Have a better understanding of the historical foundations of the "hacker ethics";
- Learn to "historicize" digital artifacts by situating them in their historical contexts;
- Have a good understanding of the anthropological concepts to study digital artifacts.
The digital artifact for today is the Apple 1.
The slides for today's lecture are available here.
Read This:
We will read on and only intro text to provide you with access to the debate on the "archaeology of the contemporary" or, in other terms, the archaeology of us (living in post-industrial, late modern societies). The terms "post-industrial" and "late modern" are important for understanding the historical context of occurence of hacking as a sociocultural and technical phenomenon, so make sure you understand them well before you proceed.
Download the reading here: "After Modernity: Archaeological Approaches to the Contemporary Past" by Harrison and Schofield (2010).
Do This:
Group Project Proposal
Instructions for the group project proposal have been posted here.
Proposals are due by 5pm on 2/6.
Group assignments can be found here.
Technical Homework 00
See the instructions posted on the assignment's page.
This technical homework is due on 1/30 at 5pm.
Once you have completed the readings, fill out the following quiz. It is based on both the reading and video for today's class. If you can't see it, try this direct link.