Human computers: The role of women in early digital history

During the 'early digital' age, i.e. before the invention of the personal computer, large machines were used to conduct scientific research based on very complex, large-scale calculations. These large machines required significant human input. Women were the foremost important suppliers of this input. As human computers, i.e. as people that make calculations, women with exquisite math skills played an essential role in the decades that led to the advent of the digital age (Hicks 2017). Indeed, "[j]ust before the digital age emerged, computers were humans, sitting at tables and doing math laboriously by hand. Yet they powered everything from astronomy to war and the race into space. And for a time, a large portion of them were women" (Thompson 2019). Thsi seminar aims to gain a better understanding of the lives and roles of women as 'human computers' (Grier 2005). Based on historiography and - possibly - some primary sources, students will write a microhistorical essay on 'human computers'. The focus may be on one person, or a group of persons, or the role of women in one particular project. Classes will be used to discuss the workflow for essay writing, progress, and issues pertaining to the topic. Classes will also be used to outline the historical context of the 'early digital' (Haigh 2019).