#  Paul Duguid, UC Berkeley: "History of Information," Course at UC Berkeley School of Information 

 



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This course is designed to put information into historical perspective. Graduates of the  
course should be able to see in what ways the present "information age" is distinct from  
the past and in what ways, whether distinct or not, the past can help us to understand the  
present. Towards these ends, we will look back across the broad stream of history at  
particular moments and developments that make information "visible," sometimes to the  
inhabitants of the moment at issue and sometimes to us today. For an overview of this  
history, see the "timeline" assembled by the late Professor Geoffrey Nunberg, who helped  
to create this course.  
For this course, we will look in particular at first-hand accounts by historical actors as they  
wrestle with the confrontations, innovations, and challenges of their day, much as we do  
now. While it is hard to escape a Western focus in such a history, the course will attempt  
to address the topic of information from a global perspective as best it can. And while  
such histories tend to be told by white men, it will work hard to support the campus goal of  
inclusivity, both in its subject matter and in the classroom.

Attached the syllabus with many details and a list of readings.



 

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 Attachments- [  picture\_as\_pdf  Duguid Syllabus 2023, course no 103 ](/sites/g/files/omnuum9531/files/infohist/files/duguid-2023-103_syllabus.3.pdf)
 
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