2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
History of Technology C
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Toma Kawanishi
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.T303
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 19, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course will examine the concept of "Gijutsu" (art, craft, technology) and related ideas from a historical perspective. The question of what art/technology is has been a subject of discussion since ancient times. This lecture aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the term by tracing its historical evolution. The goal is to encourage students to think about "technology" from a variety of perspectives and gain a deeper understanding of its meaning.
Course description and aims
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Understand the dependence of our cognition on historical time and place
2. Understand the historical conditions of the emergence of Western technology through the lens of conceptual history
Keywords
Science, Technology, Innovation, Art
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The class will be given in a standard lecture style. Students will be required to submit comments or questions after the class. Each class starts with the lecturer's reviewing the comments.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | The Prometheus Myth and Its Interpretations | No requirements. |
| Class 2 | Plato on Technē: Value-Ladenness and the Doctrine of Immanent Ends | Reading course materials. |
| Class 3 | Knowledge and Its Hierarchy in Plato’s Thought | Reading course materials. |
| Class 4 | Aristotle on Technē: Imitation of Nature and Its Implications | Reading course materials. |
| Class 5 | Aristotle’s Classification of Knowledge: The Place of Technē | Reading course materials. |
| Class 6 | Translation and Transmission: The Liberal and Mechanical Arts in the Latin Middle Ages | Reading course materials. |
| Class 7 | Ars in Medieval Europe: The Relationship Between Liberal and Mechanical Arts | Reading course materials. |
| Class 8 | Early Modern De-compartmentalization: The Rise of Superior Artisans | Reading course materials. |
| Class 9 | Re-compartmentalization: Scholars' takeover | Reading course materials. |
| Class 10 | The Enlightenment Thinkers on Arts | Reading course materials. |
| Class 11 | Marx on Technology (I): Historical Materialism and the Forces of Production | Reading course materials. |
| Class 12 | Marx on Technology (II): Labor, Machinery, and the Transformation of Work | Reading course materials. |
| Class 13 | Thorstein Veblen on Science and Technology | Reading course materials. |
| Class 14 | Heidegger’s Critique of Technology: The Question Concerning Technik | No requirements. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
not specified
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Eric Schatzberg. Technology: Critical History of a Concept. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press 2018)
Evaluation methods and criteria
Evaluation is based on the submission of forms before each session (20%) and a final report (80%). If you use a generative AI, like ChatGPT, in your report, please make sure to indicate this and support its accuracy with proper references.
Related courses
- LAH.T103 ： History of Technology A
- LAH.T203 ： History of Technology B
- LAH.S416 ： Essence of Humanities and Social Sciences16:History of Technology
Prerequisites
No prerequisites. Attendees should have an interest in philosophy, thought, and languages.
Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).
kawanishi.t.ac[at]m.titech.ac.jp
Office hours
14:00- 16:00 on Wednesday at Lecturer's office. or contact by e-mail in advance to schedule an appointment.