Technological Advances and American Society in 20th And 21st Centuries:

 

An essay about each topic listed below is the extra credit assignment. Only one topic (topic of your choice) needs to be selected and written about. The essay is single line, no less than 10 pages. The essay needs to be accompanied by bibliography and footnotes reference to bibliography. Essay’s font size can not exceed 12. Choose “Times Roman” font for your work. Images and diagrams are welcomed in the essay. 

Since this is a college level essay, you need to be accurate in your references and work. Hopefully in upcoming years you will present magnificent works to various conferences and important agencies that will help your fellow man benefit from your knowledge and expertise gained over the years. 

 

The issue will always be “to challenge yourself for better; in other word, your current work has to always be better than your last.

 

Topic 1:

Technological advances and American Society in 20th and 21st centuries:

 

The following items will help you structure your essay toward the conclusion:

 

a- Start of assembly lines in United States in late 1800s

b- Rapid production during World War II to counter the production of German war machine.

c- Endless creativity during the 50’s and gaining world status in incorporating technology in every day living.

d- Impacting the lives of other nations and continents for better thru technology.

e- Help other nations to increase crops for food thru hydraulic engineering and water supply.

f- Gradual Decline in the late 60s and the 70s

g- Amazing Microsoft and MAC and of course IBM to revolutionize all aspects of life for the coming years

h- Reinvention and re-emergence 

i- Revamping the space and defense program as well as technologies in the 80s, 90s and 2000s

j- Present day advances in Medicine, Biomedical engineering, sustainability

 

 

Topic 2:

Impact of technologies, modern inventions and engineering advances in creating two major life styles, urban life and nomadic life:

 

The following items will help you structure your essay toward the conclusion:

a- Core difference between urban settlement and nomadic life.

b- Does the development of urban centers depend upon the technology, engineering and scientific advances?

c- Regulation on maximum populations for a settlement in the “Greek-City/State” period.

d- Mongol invasion of Near East, Russia and Eastern Europe and the decline and fall of the technologically advance Urban centers of the ancient world and its impact on rise of Europe.

e- Ibn Khaldun’s book called Muqaddimah written in 1377 AD and its analysis of urban and nomadic life from his point of view which was the world of Near East.

This books translation by Yale’s professor Franz Rosenthal in 1958 became a highly influential book by sociologists, economists and urbanists.

f- Adam Smith’s book “ Wealth of Nations” and analysis on concentration of work forces in urban or rural areas

g- Living conditions in Europe, urban and rural during 1700s

h- Living conditions in Europe during the industrial revolutions, urban and rural.

i- Conditions of living in major Urban Centers such as London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna.

j- William Morris’s doctrine (who many consider to be the first environmentalist of the modern times) and negative reaction to industrialization and mass production that were created by advance engineering technologies.

k- The on-going battle between the traditionalists and modernists

l- 1991 Ahwahnee Principles

m- 2000 Hannover Principles

n- Growth is man’s destiny and the response to its inquisitive mind. Is it possible to strike a balance between the proponents of growth and proponents of zero growth?