Engineering Inequality: Technology and Inequity Throughout History
Introduction to the history of technology focusing on its relationship with social inequality, examining gendered, racial, and class-based disparities from the 17th century to the present.
Summary
Past student reviews · Daniel Williford
The course required weekly readings and mandatory attendance, with participation contributing to the final grade. One student found the overall workload extremely reasonable.
What you’ll be able to do
Identify and summarize key concepts in the history of technology
Utilize historical methods and techniques and apply these to analyze primary sources including print media, visual art, film, web-based content, and technical materials
Apply concepts from the history of technology to relevant present-day issues in engineering and technology policy
Produce original arguments that demonstrate critical thinking skills and draw on course concepts, arguments specifically about the role of technology—as a collection of material, social, and political practices—and technological change in the contemporary world
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapNone
- None
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- None
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
DANIEL WILLIFORD is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Past student reviews · Daniel Williford
Students described Professor Williford as a supportive instructor who taught interesting lectures focused on the big picture rather than minute details.
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2021: 3.78 GPA, 88.4% A/AB (n=43 letter grades); Fall 2022: 3.70 GPA, 85.4% A/AB (n=41 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.73 GPA, 92.3% A/AB (n=13 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Daniel Williford
The course required weekly readings and mandatory attendance, with participation contributing to the final grade. One student found the overall workload extremely reasonable.
Past student reviews · Daniel Williford
A past student appreciated the professor's accommodating nature and clear grading criteria, noting that he was a well-respected teacher.
Topics
- Gendered, racial, and class-based disparities in the history of technology.
- Engineered inequity intersecting with state-building, colonialism, environmental degradation, and revolution.
- Technology's role in imagining more just societies.
- Transnational case studies from the 17th century to the present.
- Histories of technology originating outside the U.S. and Europe.
Skills
- Identifying and summarizing key concepts in the history of technology.
- Applying historical methods to analyze primary sources like print media, visual art, film, web content, and technical materials.
- Applying history of technology concepts to present-day engineering and technology policy issues.
- Producing original arguments demonstrating critical thinking about technology as material, social, and political practices.
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Spring 2026
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"output_id": "8eaa7190993a458bca34a5bc9af1ef34f481b668596baf28bfa411080cd8b0da",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}