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2022-2023 College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

LIS 210 - Hacking and Open Source Culture

3 Credits, 3 Contact Hours
2 lecture periods 0 lab periods

Examination of hacking and open source culture from a historical, social, and cultural perspective. Includes a history of hacking and how the ethos of early hackers influenced the development of open-source culture, the elements of the modern open-source community, and how hacking and open source ideas have impacted culture, technology, and society. 

Information: No programming is required. 

Course Learning Outcomes
  1. Articulate the roles of early hackers and the development of the hacker community and their relationship to the methodologies found in open-source software.
  2. Explain the debate around open source software, proprietary software, and intellectual freedom.
  3. Explicate the impact of open source and open access as alternatives to traditional intellectual property law and policy.
  4. Evaluate the roles of government and private enterprise in the development of our digital society.
  5. Determine how the hacker ethos can be applied to current social and technological problems
  6. Explain how the future of technology (AI, automation, etc) will impact society and culture, how it can be hacked to be more open and human-focused.
Outline:
  1. Introductions
    1. What is a hacker?
    2. Hacking and being hacked
  2. History of Hacking 
    1. Development of the computer
    2. Early history of hacking (MIT 1950s-1960s)
    3. Hardware Hacking (California 1970s)
    4. Hacking in the PC age (1980s-early 2000s)
    5. Impact of personal computing on hacking
  3. The Internet
    1. Early architecture of the internet
    2. Development of World Wide Web and open web protocols
    3. Beginnings of open source culture
    4. Net Neutrality
    5. The Dark Web
  4. Copyright, Licensing, and the Law
    1. History of copyright and licensing
    2. Modern applications of copyright and licensing rules
    3. Torrenting, illegal downloading
    4. Open alternatives to dominant model
    5. Modern anti-hacking laws
  5. Hacktivism
    1. Anonymous 
    2. Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, WikiLeaks
    3. Hacking in developing countries
  6. The Modern Open Source Movement
    1. Open textbooks
    2. Open Access research
    3. Creative Commons
    4. Makerspaces
  7. How the Hacker Ethic has influenced modern culture
    1. Facebook and hacker ethic
    2. Google
    3. Business applications
    4. Games and gaming
    5. Hackathons