Difference and Diversity in the History of Computing | National Humanities Center

Humanities in Class: Webinar Series

Difference and Diversity in the History of Computing

Algorithmic Bias; Computing; Discrimination

Mar Hicks (NHC Fellow, 2018–19; Associate Professor of History of Technology, Humanities Department, Illinois Institute of Technology)

May 4, 2023

Advisor(s): Aric Foster, NHC Teacher Advisory Council

This webinar looks at how the history of computing is more diverse than many people expect, and why these less-well-known narratives are important to understanding the changes in the field of computing over time, as well as in the present day. Topics that will be addressed include gender, professionalization, race, class, sexuality, meritocracy, and historiography.

Webinar Resources

Before the live webinar please be sure to review the available materials in the webinar resource folder. Use the code provided in your registration email to access these resources.

  • Hicks, Mar. “Hacking the Cis-Tem.” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 41, no. 1 (2019): 20–33.
  • Hicks, Mar. “Sexism Is a Feature, Not a Bug.” In Your Computer Is on Fire, edited by Thomas S. Mullaney, Benjamin Peters, Mar Hicks, and Kavita Philip, 135–58. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2021.
  • Hicks, Mar. “When Did the Fire Start?” In Your Computer Is on Fire, edited by Thomas S. Mullaney, Benjamin Peters, Mar Hicks, and Kavita Philip, 11–26. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2021.


Subjects

History / Technology / Algorithmic Bias / Computing / Discrimination /

Rights

cc-by-nc-nd