My first foray into undergraduate teaching, in collaboration with Prof. David Kazdan. Resulted in a peer-reviewed IEEE paper on the integration of amateur radio with humanities and engineering curriculum.

Course description

Radio operators can talk to each other across the world, launch and use space satellite stations, and bounce their voices off the moon. And yet the Federal Communications Commission still regulates what they may say on the air. Why is that? And why does amateur radio require a license? In this course, we’ll discuss the history of long-distance communication methods stretching from the British Penny Post into the modern digital age, viewed particularly through the lens of the Amateur Radio Service. We will also explore the ways that advances in communication technology have changed politics, entertainment and personal interactions. Who makes the rules for a new system of communication? What causes changes in those rules? Was Orson Welles morally, ethically, or legally responsible for causing a mass panic with his reading of “War of the Worlds?” What might the future hold for communications? Students will earn amateur radio licenses, make contacts with other radio amateurs around the world and with each other, and possibly bounce signals off the moon and listen for their return. We will also look at the ham radio culture, from QSL cards to public service and contesting. Students will learn some basic hands-on electronics, but no previous technical background is required.

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