Poster showing a cheerful soldier shouldering a rifle and smoking a pipe. Caption: "The moment the order came to go forward, there were smiling faces everywhere." Extract from letter written in the trenches of the Aisne by General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. Poster no. 22. W. 422/405 10m. 4/15. Title from item.

John Constable, The Hay Wain (Landscape: Noon), 1821, oil on canvas, 130.2 x 185.4 cm (The National Gallery, London). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.

John Constable, View on the Stour near Dedham, 1822, oil on canvas, 51 x 74 inches (The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

This class is divided into a series of sections or “modules”, each of which concentrates on a particular large technology-related topic in a cultural context. The class will start with a four-week module on Samurai Swords and Blacksmithing, followed by smaller units on Chinese Cooking, the Invention of Clocks, and Andean Weaving, and end with a four-week module on Automobiles and Engines. In addition, there will be a series of hands-on projects that tie theory and practice together. The class discussions range across anthropology, history, and individual development, emphasizing recurring themes, such as the interaction between technology and culture and the relation between “skill” knowledge and “craft” knowledge.

Culture Tech evolved from a more extensive, two-semester course which formed the centerpiece of the Integrated Studies Program at MIT.  For 13 years, ISP was an alternative first-year program combining humanities, physics, learning-by-doing, and weekly luncheons.  Culture Tech represents the core principles of ISP distilled into a 6-unit seminar. Although many collections of topics have been used over the years, the modules presented here are a representative sequence.

Poster is text only. Text continues: When we think of the horrors of war - when there rises before the mind the awful panorama of the battlefield - the men are not the only pathetic figures. An equal demand has been made on those noble animals who, when guided by a rider's hand, will face the cannon's mouth! They have to fight and suffer together, but there is this difference - the horses are not free agents - they have no exhortations of patriotic duty, no visions of glory and promotion. Title from item.

This course is intended to provide an up-to-date introduction to the development of English society between the late fifteenth and the early eighteenth centuries: a vital period of social, political, economic, and cultural transition, and one which provided the immediate context of early British settlement in North America. Particular issues addressed in the lectures and section discussions, and available for deeper study as essay topics, will include: the changing social structure; households; local communities; gender roles; economic development; urbanization; religious change from the Reformation to the Act of Toleration; the Tudor and Stuart monarchies; rebellion, popular protest and civil war; witchcraft; education, literacy and print culture; crime and the law; poverty and social welfare; the changing structures and dynamics of political participation and the emergence of parliamentary government.

This course surveys the social, cultural, and political development of western Europe between 500 and 1350. A number of topics are incorporated into the broad chronological sweep of the course, including: the Germanic conquest of the ancient Mediterranean world; the rise of a distinct northern culture and the Carolingian Renaissance; the emergence of feudalism and the breakdown of political order; contact with the Byzantine and Islamic East and the Crusading movement; the quality of religious life; the vitality of the high medieval economy and culture; and the catastrophes of the fourteenth century.

Poster showing a sailor in 19th century uniform, with modern battleships at sea and a distant shore in flames. Design copyright Seargeant Bros. Ltd. Poster no. 101. Title from item.

Poster is text only, with small armorial device of King George V. Poster no. 1. W 7810-14. Title from item.

England didn't start its first successful colony in North America until 1607, more than 100 years after Columbus arrived in the New World. In this video, Kim discusses the problems that prevented England from following in Spain's footsteps, including struggles for the throne, war in Ireland, and economic depression.

Poster showing a chicken wearing a red leg band and a sash decorated with a crown. Title from item.

Poster is text only. Poster no. 48. Wt. W 9754/224. Title from item.

Poster is text only, with small armorial device of King George V. Poster no. 10. No. 4823-14. Title from item.

Poster showing a half-length portrait of a soldier. Poster no. 11. W. 8105 25 M. 11/14. Title from item.

Henry Fuseli, Titania and Bottom, c. 1790, oil on canvas, 2172 x 2756 mm (Tate Britain, London). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Poster is text only. Poster no. 39. W. W. 10145/237 25M 1/15. Title from item.

This course will focus on the emergence and evolution of industrial societies around the world. The student will begin by comparing the legacies of industry in ancient and early modern Europe and Asia and examining the agricultural and commercial advances that laid the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution. The student will then follow the history of industrialization in different parts of the world, taking a close look at the economic, social, and environmental effects of industrialization. This course ultimately examines how industrialization developed, spread across the globe, and shaped everyday life in the modern era. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: identify key ideas and events in the history of industrialization; identify connections between the development of capitalism and the development of modern industry; use analytical tools to evaluate the factors contributing to industrial change in different societies; identify the consequences of industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries in different societies; critique historical interpretations of the causes and effects of industrialization; and analyze and interpret primary source documents describing the process of industrialization and life in industrial societies. (History 363)

Poster showing an older woman encouraging a young man to enlist. Title from item. Poster no. 109. W. 8188 - 15M - 8/15.

Poster is text only. Poster no. 45. Wt. 9754, 35M. 1/15. Title from item.