Communities of Computing: Computer Science and Society in the ACM / Edition 1

by Thomas J. Misa

Overview

Communities of Computing is the first book-length history of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), founded in 1947 and with a membership today of 100,000 worldwide. It profiles ACM's notable SIGs, active chapters, and individual members, setting ACM's history into a rich social and political context. The book's 12 core chapters are organized into three thematic sections. "Defining the Discipline" examines the 1960s and 1970s when the field of computer science was taking form at the National Science Foundation, Stanford University, and through ACM's notable efforts in education and curriculum standards. "Broadening the Profession" looks outward into the wider society as ACM engaged with social and political issues - and as members struggled with balancing a focus on scientific issues and awareness of the wider world.

Chapters examine the social turbulence surrounding the Vietnam War, debates about the women's movement, efforts for computing and community education, and international issues including professionalization and the Cold War. "Expanding Research Frontiers" profiles three areas of research activity where ACM members and ACM itself shaped notable advances in computing, including computer graphics, computer security, and hypertext.

Featuring insightful profiles of notable ACM leaders, such as Edmund Berkeley, George Forsythe, Jean Sammet, Peter Denning, and Kelly Gotlieb, and honest assessments of controversial episodes, the volume deals with compelling and complex issues involving ACM and computing. It is not a narrow organizational history of ACM committees and SIGS, although much information about them is given. All chapters are original works of research. Many chapters draw on archival records of ACM's headquarters, ACM SIGs, and ACM leaders. This volume makes a permanent contribution to documenting the history of ACM and understanding its central role in the history of computing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781970001846
Publisher:	Association for Computing Machinery and Morgan & C
Publication date:	11/10/2016
Series:	ACM Books
Pages:	422
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Thomas Misa directs the Charles Babbage Institute (http://www.cbi.umn.edu/), a leading international research and archiving center specializing in the history of information technology, at the University of Minnesota. There he teaches in the Program for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine and holds the ERA Land Grant Chair in History of Technology in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. From 2014 to 2016 he was chair of the ACM History Committee, which assisted in the support and preparation of these chapters.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents / 1. ACM and the Computing Revolution (Thomas J. Misa) / Theme 1: Defining the Discipline / 2. From Handmaiden to 'Proper Intellectual Discipline': Creating a Scientific Identity for Computer Science in 1960s America (Janet Abbate) / 3. George Forsythe, the ACM, and the Creation of Computer Science As We Know It (Joseph November) / 4. Solving a Career Equation: The First Doctoral Women in Computer Science (Irina Nikivincze) / 5. The History and Purpose of Computing Curricula (1960s to 2000s) (Sebastian Dziallas) / Theme 2: Broadening the Profession / 6. 'Deeply Political and Social Issues': Debates within ACM 1965-1985 (Janet Toland) / 7. Organized Advocacy for Professional Women in Computing: Comparing Histories of the AWC and the ACM-W (Amy Sue Bix) / 8. The Development of Computer Professionalization in Canada (Scott Campbell) / 9. The Anatomy of an Encounter: Transnational Mediation and Discipline Building in Cold War Computer Science (Ksenia Tatarchenko) / 10. Concern for the 'Disadvantaged': ACM's Role in Training and Education for Communities of Color 1958-1975 (R. Arvid Nelsen) / Theme 3: Expanding Research Frontiers / 11. Other Places of Invention: Computer Graphics at the University of Utah (Jacob Gaboury) / 12. Framing Computer Security and Privacy, 1967-1992 (Rebecca Slayton) / 13. Hypertext, Digital Libraries, and Beyond: A History of SIGWEB (Inna Kouper) / Bibliography