CLRS GU4213

Although this class is somewhat of an outlier, it has helped me understand our current political, social, and cultural situation. The topics covered in this course are highly relevant, and the tangents that we go on have led me to become a better historian and writer.

- fundamentals of Science and Technology Studies; Soviet history and its narratives; Soviet historiography; postwar US history; history of cybernetics, system sciences and the Internet; technological and scientific history of the Cold War; and the instructor's expertise - Soviet economics and, specifically, Soviet mathematical economics.

the capability of coining down historiographical junctions among a myriad of historical narratives. We were encouraged to read the text very carefully and pay very close attention to the overarching arguments and historiographical moves performed by the authors.

how to write and read better. The instructor pays attention to the arguments that we are making, which is in fact such a rare thing according to my experience at Columbia.

In this course, I gained a deep understanding of the foundational concepts of cybernetics and how they have influenced modern computing and artificial intelligence. I also learned how cybernetics emerged within the military-industrial complex during the Cold War and its significant impact on counterculture and cyberculture. This course expanded my perspective on how control systems and feedback mechanisms are vital in fields like national security and cybersecurity. It gave me valuable insights into the intersection of technology, politics, and economics, and helped me see the broader implications of cybernetic theory in shaping the modern world.

This is an extremely difficult question to answer in brief. The sheer breadth of content covered in this course is extremely impressive. Cybernetics, by its nature, touches every discipline in one way or another, and Professor Leeds does an excellent job of catering towards students' interests and skillsets. I learned more than I have in any other similar class about the structure of historiographies, the political history of the Soviet Union, the history of computers, the relationship between the US Air Force and American foreign policy, Cold War culture and counterculture in the 60s through the 90s, and much, much more. Each of these subject areas could be a course unto themselves. Even though we covered so many different topics, Professor Leeds makes the relationship between all of these things exceptionally clear, and is able to teach these subjects at impressive depth despite the limited class time every week. Beyond the course content, Professor Leeds also teaches useful research skills such as: how to read and digest dense academic materials, how to annotate better, how to think of texts beyond simply what is on the page, and much more. This class gave me a lot more confidence in my abilities as a scholar, and it gave me a springboard towards much more improvement in the foreseeable future.

Historiography --> the different ways in which historical events can be categorized, timelined, and grouped together which creates different narratives/arguments depending how the history is defined -The political structure of the Soviet Union/historical timeline -How to really dig in deep into nonfiction books, and how to parse the main arguments within the structure of a book -How to read a subject where books are in conversation with each other -History of cybernetics, and how cybernetics rose and fall, yet influenced the development of computers and the internet -How cybernetics affected concepts like AI, Operations Research, Game Theory, Systems Analysis -How cybernetics had a huge impact on the culture of Silicon Valley culture

This course gave a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the once widely popular and now little-discussed field of cybernetics. We learned the history of cybernetics, its incubation within Cold War military research, its accompanying development and reception within the Soviet Union, and how it connected with computing technology that proceeded and succeed its heyday. At a higher-level, we learned how to analyze and compare historiographical narratives within texts, and understand how these narrative structures can be at times the most influential feature of historical texts, as opposed to simply the facts and details they present.

Yes. I have already recommended this class to all of my friends who were interested in Soviet/Cold War history or cybernetics and I will continue to do so, i.e. to recommend this class to people I think would be willing to dedicate their efforts to the course requirements. For those who want to work more seriously in the humanities and social sciences, this class would expose you to perspectives that were barely touched upon in other classes (i.e. historiographical questions, genres of historical narratives, and some basics of political, cultural and economic theory) and would definitely make you a better scholar. For those whose expertise lies in STEM, this course would push you to think more than the technical specifics of your own discipline while offering the opportunity to reflect on the history of the sciences themselves.

I would highly recommend this course to any student interested in technology, history, politics, or the evolution of modern computing. The course provides invaluable insights into the interdisciplinary nature of cybernetics and its far-reaching influence. Adam Leeds was an excellent instructor. His ability to link the technical aspects of cybernetics with their broader historical, political, and cultural contexts was invaluable. His enthusiasm for the subject was infectious, and his explanations were engaging. I appreciated the depth of insight he provided during class discussions and how he encouraged us to think critically about the material.