HST 385 Internet Protocols and Politics
This course is about the politics behind the creation and control of Internet protocols and infrastructure. Students will explore the relationship between the design of the Internet and the context in which it was developed, how its underlying protocols require certain forms of control and administration, and how this control confers certain forms of power. Students will learn why the Internet was designed the way it was, why alternative designs were rejected, and the political problems and ideals that were encoded into its protocols.