# Lecture Notes

Selected lecture notes are provided below.

Lecture notes files.
LEC # | TOPICS | FILES
--- | --- | ---
Unit 1: Humankind as a History-making Species
1 | Introduction to class and key concepts |
2 | What is technology? What is history (and prehistory)? (Visitor: Prof. Leo Marx) | Notes (PDF) Slides (PDF)
3 | Technology in prehistory: cave art | Notes (PDF) Slides (PDF - 11.7MB)
4 | Technology in "prehistory" | Notes (PDF) Slides (PDF)
5 | Historical Analogies |
Unit 2: Civilizations Based on Agriculture
6 | The Neolithic Revolution | Notes (PDF) Glossary (PDF)
7 | Introduction to MIT's 150th anniversary: class visit to MIT archives |
8 | Discuss visit to Archives | Notes (PDF)
9 | Civilizations and Empires (part two) | See Wikipedia: Megalith Lubbock, Tom. "Uffington White Horse (c.1000BC)." The Independent (UK), Great Art Series. 30 March 2007.
10 | Technohistorical Revolutions (part one) |
11 | Technohistorical Revolutions (part two) |
12 | Agrarian Civilizations (part one): megalithic agrarian civilizations | Notes (PDF)
13 | Agrarian Civilizations (part two): the Roman Empire as an agrarian civilization |
Unit 3: Civilizations Based on Fossil Fuels
14 | The Industrial Revolution | Notes (PDF) Slides (PDF - 4.7MB)
15 | Visit to MIT Museum |
16 | The Second Industrial Revolution (part one) | Notes (PDF) Slides (PDF - 2.5MB)
17 | The Second Industrial Revolution (part two) |
Unit 4: Human Empire
18 | The Second Industrial Revolution (part three) |
19 | The Second Industrial Revolution (part four) |
20 | From Industry to Battlefield Chemical Engineering at MIT | Notes (PDF) Slides (PDF - 10.2MB)
21 | Ground Zero (part one) | Notes (PDF)
22 | Ground Zero (part two) |
23 | Looking Back and Beyond: General review of MIT 150 |
24 | Looking Back and Beyond: Presentations and discussion on "what is the role of technology in history?" |
25 | Looking Back and Beyond: Presentations and discussion on "what is the role of technology in history?" (cont.) | (PDF) (Courtesy of MIT student. Used with permission.)