The History of MIT

A photograph of the Stata Center at MIT, with a red sculpture in the foreground.

The Stata Center at MIT. (Disney or MIT?, bettlebox on Flickr. CC-BY-NC-SA.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

STS.050

As Taught In

Spring 2011

Level

Undergraduate

Cite This Course

Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

This course examines the history of MIT through the lens of the broader history of science and technology, and vice versa. The course covers the founding of MIT in 1861 and goes through the present, including such topics as William Barton Rogers, educational philosophy, biographies of MIT students and professors, intellectual and organizational development, the role of science, changing laboratories and practices, and MIT's relationship with Boston, the federal government, and industry. Assignments include short papers, presentations, and final paper. A number of classes are concurrent with the MIT150 Symposia.

Related Content

David Mindell, and Merritt Smith. STS.050 The History of MIT. Spring 2011. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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