This section includes reading response paper assignments in the unstructured and structured formats and a final paper assignment.
Weekly Questions
Reading Response Paper Assignment (Sessions 2-6: The Unstructured Format)
Write a 1-2 page reading response paper addressing the issues raised in the readings. You may choose from the provided list of tentative questions, but you are encouraged to raise your own questions. Your paper must touch upon all the readings assigned for the upcoming session.
Strategies for Writing a Good Reading Response Paper
- Define your personal stance towards the issues raised in the readings.
- Avoid generalities, be specific.
- Focus on the points where you disagree, or where you can push the argument further.
- Cite examples from your personal experience or from other literature.
- Ask provocative questions, even if you do not know the answers.
Your paper will be made accessible to other members of the class after the deadline. It will be part of discussion in class.
Papers must be submitted in the morning before each class. No late papers are accepted.
Be creative and imaginative! Good luck!
| SES # | TOPICS | WEEKLY QUESTIONS | STUDENT SAMPLES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Issues in the History of Computing | (PDF) | Daniel Roy (PDF) |
| 3 | Computers in Nuclear Physics: ENIAC and the Hydrogen Bomb | (PDF) | Anthony Grue (PDF) Steven Stern (PDF) (Courtesy of Steven Stern. Used with permission.) |
| 4 | Computers in Meteorology: Simulating the World | (PDF) | Jason Ruchelsman (PDF) (Courtesy of Jason Ruchelsman. Used with permission.) Katherine A. Franco (PDF) (Courtesy of Katherine Franco. Used with permission.) |
| 5 | Computers in Mathematics: The Logic Theorist and the Automation of Proof | (PDF) | Joshua Tauber (PDF) Patrick Griffin (PDF) (Courtesy of Patrick Griffin. Used with permission.) |
| 6 | Computers in Cognitive Psychology: GPS and Psychological Theory | (PDF) | Aaron Bell (PDF) (Courtesy of Aaron Bell. Used with permission.) Steven Stern (PDF) (Courtesy of Steven Stern. Used with permission.) |
Reading Response Paper Assignment (Sessions 7-13: The Structured Format)
Write a 1-2 page structured paper in response to your readings. The paper must focus on a single question; you may choose from the provided list, but you are encouraged to formulate your own question. Your paper must have the following format:
- Title
- Introduction: State your question; explain its significance; formulate your thesis.
- Background: Briefly give relevant historical information about the computing developments that you will analyze.
- Survey of literature: State the existing perspectives (more than one) on the subject of your analysis; these can be gauged from your readings or simply hypothesized (one could argue that...).
- Analysis: Give your own perspective and supporting argument.
- Conclusion: What is the lesson here? What are further lines of inquiry, new questions to ask?
- References: Use the format from the syllabus.
Devote no more than 1-2 paragraphs to each section. You may combine sections 2 and 3, if necessary. I realize that information in your readings may not be sufficient to fill all the sections; do the best you can. Your paper does not have to cite all the readings for the week, but you must read all of them. Spell-check and proof-read your paper before submission.
| SES # | TOPICS | WEEKLY QUESTIONS | STUDENT SAMPLES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Computers in Biochemistry: DENDRAL and Knowledge Engineering | (PDF) | Aaron Bell (PDF) (Courtesy of Aaron Bell. Used with permission.) Jason Ruchelsman (PDF) (Courtesy of Jason Ruchelsman. Used with permission.) |
| 8 | Computers in Aerospace: The Apollo Guidance Computer | (PDF) | Anthony Grue (PDF) Patrick Griffin (PDF) (Courtesy of Patrick Griffin. Used with permission.) |
| 10 | Computers in Medicine: MYCIN and the Formalization of Expertise | (PDF) | Aaron Bell (PDF) (Courtesy of Aaron Bell. Used with permission.) Daniel Roy (PDF) |
| 11 | Supercomputing at Home: A Social Experiment in Distributed Computing | (PDF) | Antoinne Machal-Cajigas (PDF) Patrick Griffin (PDF) (Courtesy of Patrick Griffin. Used with permission.) |
| 12 | Computers in Linguistics: Lost in Machine Translation | (PDF) | Aaron Bell (PDF) (Courtesy of Aaron Bell. Used with permission.) Steven Stern (PDF) (Courtesy of Steven Stern. Used with permission.) |
| 13 | Computers in the Humanities: Hype, Text, and Hypertext | (PDF) | Aaron Bell (PDF) (Courtesy of Aaron Bell. Used with permission.) Patrick Griffin (PDF) (Courtesy of Patrick Griffin. Used with permission.) |
Final Paper Assignment
Write a 10-15 page paper (double-spaced, 1.25" margins, 12 pt font). You may choose any topic that addresses the use of the computer as a scientific instrument. You may choose something close to your own area of expertise, or something completely different. You can focus on one specific computer system and analyze its uses from different perspectives (designers', users', scientists', humanists', etc.), or you can address a larger issue that involves a certain category of computer systems (for example, expert systems) and perhaps a range of scientific disciplines. You may choose one of the topics we discussed in class, but you must significantly broaden the range of your sources. Your final paper must analyze both primary sources (participants' accounts) and secondary sources (works by historians, sociologists, anthropologists, or other commentators). Choose an issue over which there has been (or should have been) some debate, and take a stand on that issue. Provide ample argumentation for your position and explain your objections to the alternative position(s). The final paper should follow the same structured format that is required for the Session 7-13 reading responses.
Final Paper Guide
Proposal for a Final Paper
Write a 1-2 page proposal for your final paper. The proposal should include: (1) the central question the final paper will address; (2) the historical significance of this question and how it relates to discussions in class; (3) a brief outline; and (4) a tentative bibliography, including both primary and secondary sources. Your proposal will receive the instructor's feedback the following week. The proposal is due in class on Session 9.
Final Paper Guidelines
Write a 10-15 page paper (double-spaced, 1.25" margins, 12 pt font). You may choose any topic that addresses the use of the computer as a scientific instrument. You may choose something close to your own area of expertise, or something completely different. You can focus on one specific computer system and analyze its uses from different perspectives (designers', users', scientists', humanists', etc.), or you can address a larger issue that involves a certain category of computer systems (for example, expert systems) and perhaps a range of scientific disciplines. You may choose one of the topics we discussed in class, but you must significantly broaden the range of your sources. Your final paper must analyze both primary sources (participants' accounts) and secondary sources (works by historians, sociologists, anthropologists, or other commentators). Choose an issue over which there has been (or should have been) some debate, and take a stand on that issue. Provide ample argumentation for your position and explain your objections to the alternative position(s). The final paper should follow the same structured format that is required for the Session 7-13 reading responses. The final paper is due in class on Session 14.
Sample Final Paper
Anthony Ronald Grue (PDF)