Mirjam Mayer: Catalogue data in Spring Semester 2021 |
| Name | Ms Mirjam Mayer |
| Address | Institut für Geschichte ETH Zürich, RZ F 12 Clausiusstrasse 59 8092 Zürich SWITZERLAND |
| Telephone | +41 44 632 08 26 |
| mirjam.mayer@history.gess.ethz.ch | |
| Department | Humanities, Social and Political Sciences |
| Relationship | Lecturer |
| Number | Title | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 851-0525-00L | A History of Personal Computing  | 3 credits | 2S | R. Wichum, M. Mayer | |
| Abstract | The seminar will examine how the personal computer shaped different digital spaces. How personal could a computer actually be? What spaces of user autonomy did operating systems and software create? | ||||
| Objective | Students become familiar with the interdependence of technical and social change through the history of computers, media and science. It is a text-based seminar. In addition, we practice the handling of source material. | ||||
| Content | Since the 1980’s computers are placed on office desks or even in a corner of a private hobby room. Silicon chips and developments in microprocessor technology made the size of computers shrink. The personal computer was the result of this technological development. However, how personal could a computer actually be? What spaces of user autonomy did operating systems and software create? The seminar will examine how the personal computer shaped different digital spaces. We research the negotiations between technology and society. | ||||