Calculating Americans: Big Histories of Small Data

4 credits · Undergraduate

The data we use both reflects our values and shapes them, structuring the questions we ask and answer about the world. This course will examine the history of American data collection and analysis, from the census to opinion polling to sports. Along the way we will explore the ways that categories, units of analysis, and collection practices shape what we know about race, gender, labor, and economic change. We will also analyze quantitative documents to learn about the past—both through close reading and through aggregation and statistical analysis. Students can expect to grapple with practical and ethical questions related to data and also to prepare an original research project that analyzes historical data.