Search: Energy and Resources Group, Transportation

The history of America is inextricably bound to the history of modern sociotechnical systems, among which the automobile in particular stands out for its impacts on energy use, the environment, and the shape of American cities. Organized around a social, technical, and political history of the American automobile, this course will examine the co-evolution of the automobile, the industries that support it, and the politics and social structure of American society (with an emphasis on California). We will also take an interdisciplinary look at the profound cultural effects of the automobile, not only as a technical object, but also as a visible and contested social and cultural artifact, the locus of persistent conflict between American individualism and formal and informal modes of regulation and collective action.