This course is designed to engage students in conversations about particular perspectives on the history of a selected nation, region, people, culture, institution, or historical phenomenon as specified by the respective instructor. By taking this course, students will come to understand, and develop an appreciation for, some combination of: the origins and evolution of the people, cultures, and/or political, economic, and/or social institutions of a particular region(s) of the world. They may also explore how human encounters shaped individual and collective identities and the complex political, economic, and social orders of the region/nation/communities under study. Instructors and subject will vary.

We’ll kick off our exploration of Silicon Valley's history by being “disruptive”: we’ll start by thinking about its uncertain future. Is it heading towards a decline, as physicist-futurologist Michio Kaku warns, likening it to a “rustbelt”? Or is Silicon Valley already leading the way to the end of capitalism itself, as economist Yanis Varoufakis proposes with his concept of techno-feudalism? We’ll use our thoughts on these questions to guide our examination of Silicon Valley’s history—and all that is at stake in it. Importantly, we’ll examine the stories we've been told about Silicon Valley’s origins, and explore who and what have been left out of these narratives. By challenging these omissions, we’ll gain a deeper, more powerful understanding of all that Silicon Valley signifies. This will include delving into what has made it simultaneously both a place and a metonym (a shorthand for the technology sector itself)—and how these aspects interact and sometimes conflict with each other. Through curated readings and documentaries, we’ll explore the fascinating, contradictory themes that define Silicon Valley: its roots in counterculture and its ties to the military; the principle of technological determinism vs the powerful sphere of venture capital; the tension between precarious labor and the pursuit of endless growth; and the clash between meritocracy and elitism. Join us as we unravel the complex history of this iconic hub of power, innovation, and iconoclasm. Instructor bio: Valerie Black is a Lecturer in the Department of History and the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. She is an anthropologist of human-AI relationships and ethnographer of Silicon Valley (PhD UC Berkeley) who examines technology through the intersection of critical race theory, gender & queer studies, and disability justice.

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