Date Posted: 11/26/2025
Req ID: 46198
Faculty/Division: Faculty of Arts & Science
Department: Inst for Hist & Phil of Sci & Tech
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)
Description:
Course number and title: HPS 300H1S Topics in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology: CTRL, ALT, DEL: New Histories of Computing
Course description: Through a critical re-engagement with the history of computing, this course will explore how the computer, as both a technological artifact and cultural object, has transformed the ways we know, represent, and organize the world. In this course, students will investigate how the computer has been instrumental in remaking subjectivities, states, and modernities in the twentieth century and beyond. Beginning with mechanization of quantification in the Industrial Revolution, the seminar proceeds through both pivotal and under-historicized moments in the history of computing—from its incipient role in nuclear weapons development to the emergence of information theory and cybernetics in the Cold War, to the rise of the personal computer, the Internet, and artificial intelligence in the late twentieth century. Students will read touchstone primary sources in the history of computing, most notably Joseph Weizenbaum's Computer Power and Human Reason, as well as explore media representations of computing and engage with the latest scholarship. Among the scholarly works read in this course include: The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America, Island Tinkerers: Innovation and Transformation in the Making of Taiwan’s Computing Industry, Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech, and The Eye of the Master: A Social History of Artificial Intelligence.
Estimated course enrolment: 40 students
Estimated TA support: 0/per IHPST Policy
Class schedule: Tuesdays 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sessional dates of appointment: January 1 to April 30, 2026
Salary: Sessional Lecturer I - $9,820.70; Sessional Lecturer I - Long Term - $10,510.04; Sessional Lecturer II - $10,510.04; Sessional Lecturer II - Long Term - $10,760.28; Sessional Lecturer III - $10,760.28; Sessional Lecturer III - Long Term - $11,030.36
Please note that should rates stipulated in the collective agreement vary from rates stated in this posting, the rates stated in the collective agreement shall prevail.
Minimum qualifications: PhD. in the history of science.
Preferred qualifications: Evidence of excellence in teaching; scholarly engagement in endeavors concerning the history of computing and its social impact in the twentieth century.
Description of duties: Preparation and delivery of course materials; preparation and delivery of assignments; supervision of teaching assistants, if applicable; marking of student work; submission of grades to university officials; reasonable student contact and office hours.
Application instructions: All individuals interested in this position must submit a Curriculum Vitae, cover letter and the CUPE 3902 Unit 3 application form, preferably by email to muna.salloum@utoronto.ca with the subject line “Application for SL for HPS300H1S Winter 2026’.
A valid applicant email address must be included.Closing Date: 12/03/2025, 11:59PM EDT
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This job is posted in accordance with the CUPE 3902 Unit 3 Collective Agreement.
It is understood that some announcements of vacancies are tentative, pending final course determinations and enrolment. Should rates stipulated in the collective agreement vary from rates stated in this posting, the rates stated in the collective agreement shall prevail.
Preference in hiring is given to qualified individuals advanced to the rank of Sessional Lecturer II or Sessional Lecturer III in accordance with Article 14:12 of the CUPE 3902 Unit 3 collective agreement.
Please note: Undergraduate or graduate students and postdoctoral fellows of the University of Toronto are covered by the CUPE 3902 Unit 1 collective agreement rather than the Unit 3 collective agreement, and should not apply for positions posted under the Unit 3 collective agreement.
