Courses

Cars: Past, Present and Future

Focus on the past, present and future of the automobile, bridging the Humanities, Social Sciences, Design, and Engineering. Focus on the human experiences of designing, making, driving, being driven, living with, and dreaming of the automobile. A different theme will be featured each week in discussion around a talk and supported by key readings and media. The course is informed by history, archaeology, ethnography, human-technology interaction, mechanical engineering, and cognitive science. Preference to freshmen. Teaching team: C. Nass, M. Shanks. More info here. 

ID
Comm 165N
Terms
2013 - Spring
Units
3
Grading
Letter

d.school: Understanding Superfans and Their Heroes

Our fundamental belief is that the most successful people, brands and movements are built around a hero and by extension, its fans. Understanding the connection between the hero and their superfans is what we'll explore, a critical new skill if you want to build something of lasting value. You'll deconstruct what made that connection possible and then use what you learned to construct a prototype that a young up-and-coming hero can use as a roadmap.

Through a radical team-based, hands-on, multidisciplinary class, you will interview superfans to come up with the design principles... Read More

ID
ME 235
Terms
2013 - Spring
Units
2-3
Grading
Credit/No Credit

Car Culture

Car Culture. Since at least the 50s, the U.S. has been notorious as a nation in love with the car. An examination of this premise, analyzing new methods of production brought by automobile manufacture, how automobiles shaped urban growth, debates about pollution and environmental degradation, and debates around auto safety. How the car has influenced American practices including courting, eating out, and suburban living.

ID
ANTHRO 146
Terms
2013 - Winter
Units
5
Grading
Letter

Computers and Interfaces: Psychological and Societal Perspectives

This course explores the relationship between (computer-based) interfaces and human attitudes and behaviors.  There are two organizing questions for the course: (1)  How are various aspects of interfaces related to the social science of individuals and groups? (2) How should the answers to question (1) influence interface design?  In addition to lectures, teams of students will develop new automotive interfaces.

Course listing link here.

ID
COMM 169
Terms
2013 - Winter
Units
4-5
Grading
Letter or Credit/No Credit

The Automobile and the City

This course will examine the impact of the automobile on urban development and the social life of the modern city from three perspectives. First, as Auto-Utopia: a look at the golden age of automobiling during the early and late 20th century when the private car and the truck expanded the full range of opportunities for the economy and for both urban and rural residents of the modern world. Second, Auto-Dystopia: an examination of the negative impacts of the automobile that emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries in regard to safety, congestion, pollution, sustainability, and... Read More

ID
URBANST 167
Terms
2013 - Winter
Units
4
Grading
Letter or Credit/No Credit

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