A Cultural History of Hacking (Lecture by Prof. Federico MAZZINI)

Zoom Meeting (Register here)

The traditional historical narrative locates the birth of hacker culture in US universities in the 1960s. This talk will look at hackers as part of a longer chronology, beginning with science fiction novels at the end of the 19th century, continuing with radio hams in the 1910s and “phone phreaks” in the 1970s, and ending with computer hackers in the late 20th century. It will examine both what hackers and proto-hackers wrote about themselves and how they were perceived by the print media. It will show not only that hacker culture existed before computers, but also that it is an integral part of modern Western technoculture, influencing its ideas about innovation and positive human-machine relationships, as well as media coverage of technology and online communication strategies. 

Lecture (30 min)

Federico MAZZINI (Associate Professor, University of Padova, Italy)

Discussion, Q&A (15 min)

Federico MAZZINI teaches Media History and Digital History at the University of Padova (Italy). He is a cultural historian of technology, focusing on communication tech and science popularization. He studies and writes about hacker history, popularization of war technologies, web archives and historiography, historical methodology after the cultural turn.