Michael Roberts has been working towards his PhD in the History of Technology. Over the course of the last few years he has had some excellent opportunities to teach some particularly interesting courses. Highlights include gen-ed courses like HIST 1180 “Making Money,” and HIST 1777 “The History of Disasters,” as well as upper level courses in Canadian History such as HIST 3850 “The History of Murder,” which examines the history of the law, and addresses difficult topics such as the abortion debate, and HIST 3580 “20th century Canadian History,” which combines policital history with social history in truly fascinating and productive ways, and invites students to interact deeply with archival sources.

In 2025, Michael was excited to serve as a course director for the first time. History 2820 “How to Think About Technology,” is a really fun course where students are invited to think deeply about how humans and technology interact. We asked simple questions with complicated answers: What is technology anyway? Are genetically engineered seeds technological? What about cultivars developed through old-fashioned selective breeding? Are powerful technologies like roads and nuclear reactors safe? What does it even mean to describe a technology “safe” or “risky?”

One key element of the course is a field trip. Students visit either The Villiage at Black Creek where we examine technologies as simple as sawing and splitting wood, and as complex as a watermill, or virtually visit Dutch Windmills. Durring this fieldtrip, students select and examine several specific objects, which they will later analyse and present in detail durring the final exam. This approach allows students to delve deeply into a specific interest and to take charge of thier own learning experience while still demonstrating academic rigour and competence.