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The History and Purpose of Computing Curricula (1960s to 2000s)

Dziallas, Sebastian and Fincher, Sally (2017) The History and Purpose of Computing Curricula (1960s to 2000s). In: Communities of Computing: Computer Science and Society in the ACM. Association for Computing Machinery and Morgan & Claypool, pp. 91-110. ISBN 978-1-970001-84-6. E-ISBN 978-1-970001-85-3. (doi:10.1145/2973856.2973857) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:56840)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. (Contact us about this Publication)
Official URL:
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/2973856.2973862

Abstract

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.

Item Type: Book section
DOI/Identification number: 10.1145/2973856.2973857
Subjects: L Education > LA History of education
Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA 76 Software, computer programming, > QA76.17 History of computing
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Computing
Depositing User: S. Dziallas
Date Deposited: 15 Aug 2016 18:40 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 13:36 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/56840 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Dziallas, Sebastian.

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Fincher, Sally.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7347-108X
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
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