Course Syllabus:(The readings are to be completed before class on the date indicated) "Silicon Valley" is perceived by many to be the cradle of the future, and the attention given to it throughout the world is tremendous. But how did this area come to acquire such an important global identity and significance? And how has the rise of "Silicon Valley" changed modern economic and cultural life both in California and elsewhere? This course offers an intensive introduction to the historical birth of "Silicon Valley" and to the transformations effected in its name. At the center of the story will be the role of the Santa Clara Valley region of California in the birth of the modern information society. Factors in the history of science and technology, in economic and business history, in political and cultural history, and in the environment and geography of this region will be considered. Throughout, our focus will be on the peculiar factors that conspired after 1945 to make the Santa Clara Valley such a unique incubator of the modern electronic economy and on the impact of this peculiar history on the wider world. Each week we will focus on a different stage in the birth of Silicon Valley, starting with the change from "The Valley of Heart's Delight" to "Silicon Valley" after 1945 From "The Valley of Heart's Delight" to "Silicon Valley:"The Historical Transformation of the Santa Clara Valley, then in the second week the "Invention of Silicon Valley" itself Inventing Silicon Valley:The Military-Industrial Complex, the Counterculture and the PC Revolution, and finally in the third week the "Silicon Valley" revolution The Silicon Valley Revolution: From the PC to E-Commerce and Beyond. Class meetings will focus on the discussion of readings and films as listed on the syllabus and students will write mid-term and final exam essays or produce an independent research paper.
From "The Valley of Heart's Delight" to "Silicon Valley:"
The Historical Transformation of the Santa Clara Valley
Monday, May 23:The Pre-History of Silicon Valley
Films:
- Becoming Stanford, Part 1: "The Founding"
- Cadillac Desert: Mercy of Nature
Readings:
Tuesday, May 24:World War II and the Transformation of American Science
- Ohlone: The First Inhabitants of the Santa Clara Valley
- Father Junipero Serra
- The Del Monte Cannery in San Jose
- Water in Silicon Valley
Recommendations for Further Study:
- Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose (A Pulititzer-Prize-winning novel connected to the history of the Santa Clara Valley
Films:
- CNN, The Cold War: "Sputnik"
- CNN, The Cold War: "MAD"
Readings:
Rebecca Lowen, Creating the Cold War University, Ch 1-3 Dwight D. Eisenhower, "Farewell Speech" (1961)
Recommendations for Further Study:
Wednesday May 25:The Invention of Computers
- Vannevar Bush, "As We May Think," Atlantic Monthly (July, 1945) (A manifesto of sorts, by one of America's chief science policy leaders, articulating the role of the scientist and of science in the Post-War world)
- Atomic Cafe (A documentary which compiles actual film footage from the 1950s and 60s to chronicle the culture of the atomic bomb in the United States)
- Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff (also a good film version of the same; the story of the first American astronauts)
Guest Lecture: Rebecca Lowen, Community Professor, Metro State University
Films:
- The Machine that Changed the World: Great Brains
- The Machine that Changed the World: Inventing the Future
Readings:
- Rebecca Lowen, Creating the Cold War University, Ch 4-5
- Stuart Leslie, The Cold War and American Science, Chs. 2 & 4
- David Beers, Blue Sky Dream, Chs. 1-3
Recommendations for Further Study:Thursday, May 26: The Birth of Silicon Valley I
- Paul Ceruzzi, A History of Modern Computing (MIT Press, 2000)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick's 1968 classic film examining computers and artificial intelligence)
- Peter H. Salus, Casting the Net: From the ARPANet to the Internet and Beyond (Addison-Wesley, 1995)
Films:
- Transistorized
- Nerds 2.01: A Brief History of the Internet, Volume 1: Networking the Nerds
Readings:
- David Packard and Bill Hewlett, The HP Way
- Annalee Saxenian, Regional Advantage, "Introduction," Ch. 1.
Recommendations for Further Study:
Friday,May 27: The Birth of Silicon Valley II
Films:
- Becoming Stanford, Part 2: "The Transformation"
- Silicon Valley: Boomtown
Readings:
Recommendations for Further Study:
- T.R. Reid, The Chip, Chs. 1-2, 4-5, 7
- Tom Wolfe, "The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce: How the Sun Rose on the Silicon Valley," Esquire (December, 1983)
- Michael Riordan and Lillian Hoddeson, Crystal Fire: The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age (W.W. Norton, 1997)
- Michael S. Malone, The Big Score: The Million Dollar Story of Silicon Valley (Doubleday, 1985)
- Michael S. Malone, The Microprocessor : A Biography (Springer-Verlag, 1995)
Back to the Top Inventing Silicon Valley:
The Military-Industrial Complex, the Counterculture and the PC Revolution
Monday, May 30: MEMORIAL DAY: *** NO CLASS ***
.Tuesday, May 31: The Twin Cities: The Silicon Valley that Wasn't?
*** First Take-Home Exam Due, In Class ***
Films:Readings:
- CNN, The Cold War: "Make Love, Not War"
- Charles J. Murray, The Supermen: The Story of Seymour Cray, Prologue, Chs. 1-5
- Annalee Saxenian, Regional Advantage, Chs. 2-3.
Wednesday, June 1:Technology and the Counterculture
Films:
- Berkeley in the Sixties
Readings:Thursday, June 2:The Invention of the Personal Computer
- David Beers, Blue Sky Dream, Chs. 4-7
- Stuart Leslie, The Cold War and American Science,Ch. 9
- Steven Levy, Hackers, pp. 7-8, 15-69, 138-180
- Paul Keegan, "The Digerati," The New York Times Magazine (May 21, 1995)
Films:Readings:Friday, June 3: Apple Computer and the Silicon Valley RevolutionRecommendations for Further Study:
- T.R. Reid, The Chip, pp. 174-182
- Steven Levy, Hackers, pp. 181-231
- John Markoff, "A Strange Brew's Buzz Lingers in Silicon Valley," New York Times(March 26, 2000)
- John Markoff, "The Odyssey of a Hacker: From Outlaw to Consultant," New York Times (January 29, 2001)
- Paul Freiberger and Michael Swain, Fire in the Valley:The Making of the Personal Computer (McGraw Hill, 2000)
- Stewart Brand, "Fanatic Life and Symbolic Death Among the Computer Bums," Rolling Stone (December 7, 1972)
Films:
- Triumph of the Nerds, Volume 1: Impressing their Friends
- Triumph of the Nerds, Volume 2: Riding the Bear
Readings:Recommendations for Further Study:
- Stephen Levy, Hackers, pp. 244-78, 303-312
- Owen W. Linzmayer, Apple Confidential : The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc. (No Starch Press, 1999)
- Steven Levy, Insanely Great: The Life and Times of the Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything (Penguin, 2000)
The Silicon Valley Revolution:
From the PC to E-Commerce and Beyond
Monday, June 6: Transitions: "Wintel," The Eclipse of Apple, and the End of the Cold War
*** Second Take-Home Exam Due, In Class ***
Films:
- Triumph of the Nerds,Volume 3: Great Artists Steal
- Ashes of the Cold War
Readings:Tuesday, June 7: The New New Thing: Networking, the Internet, and the The World Wide WebRecommendations for Further Study:
- David Beers, Blue Sky Dream, Chs. 8-11
- Stephen Levy, Hackers, pp. 372-411, 431-436.
- Michael S. Malone, Infinite Loop : How the World's Most Insanely Great Computer Company Went Insane (Doubleday, 1999)
Films:
- Nerds 2.01: A Brief History of the Internet, Volume 2: Serving the Suits
- Nerds 2.01: A Brief History of the Internet, Volume 3: Wiring the World
Readings:Wednesday, June 8: E-Commerce and the Dot.Commandos: The Latest Silicon Valley RevolutionRecommendations for Further Study:
- Po Bronson, The Nudist on the Late Shift and Other True Tales of Silicon Valley, Ch. 1
- Michael Lewis, The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story (W.W. Norton, 2000)
Films:Readings:
Thursday, June 9: After the Gold Rush: Silicon Valley After 2000
- Po Bronson, The Nudist on the Late Shift and Other True Tales of Silicon Valley, Chs. 2-5
- Michael Lewis, "The Internet's Blank Check Business Model," (February 11, 2000)
Recommendations for Further Study:
- Dot.Con, A Frontline documentary about the the finances of the dot.com bubble.
- Jerry Kaplan, Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure(Penguin, 1994)
- Alan Cartwright, "At Yahoo Workers Fashion Corporate Family, The San Jose Mercury News, 1999
- Leslie Kaufman, "Whatever Happened to the Class of '93?" The New York Times February 20, 2000
Films:Friday, June 10:Taking Stock: Silicon Valley at the Crossroads?Readings:
- Po Bronson, The Nudist on the Late Shift and Other True Tales of Silicon Valley, Chs. 6-8
- Michael Lewis, Next, "Introduction;"" Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities, The New York Times Magazine (February 25, 2001); "Faking It, The New York Times Magazine (July 15, 2001).
Recommendations for Further Study:
- John Cassidy, Dot.con: The Greatest Story Ever Sold (Harper Collins, 2002)
Films:Readings:
- Michael Lewis, "In Defense of the Boom,"The New York Times Magazine (October 27, 2002); Jonathan Maher, "Commuting to Nowhere," The New York Times Magazine (April 13, 2003); Rebecca Vesley, "Letter from Silicon Valley," The Nation (May 26, 2003).
Recommendations for Further Study:
- Collections of articles focusing on current economic realities, Stanford, labor,the environment,housing,quality of life, social problems, morality and spirituality, and the cultural and ethnic transformations of the last 50 years. You can also read a 5-part series by reporters at The San Francisco Chronicleentitled "The Dark Side of Silicon Valley."
Monday June 13:*** Take-Home Final Exam Essays Due, Before 5 PM ***
Back to the Top