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HIST 216From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: A (Long) History of the Internet

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
History

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course contextualizes the information age around us: it examines both the technological story of the rise of the Internet, and the longer human story about the evolving concept of information, communication over time and space, and the ubiquity and complexity of the systems at the heart of our globalized world.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 08138840 / 120Online or by arrangement
LEC 701151158 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

75% liked it79% easy33% useful

From 12 ratings and 6 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • The course content itself was a bit dated but overall cool. This was spoiled by the instructor, who seemed to forget about the “service” portion of his job early in the term. Slow to respond, short and unhelpful at times, and clearly disorganized. This course was unfortunately soured for because of this, and I would not take it again with this instructor.

    May 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Very well-designed course. Love Prof. Joe

    May 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course feels like it was written too long ago to stay relevant. Online links date to outdated websites, articles behind paywalls and information that is no longer accurate about companies that no longer exist. The professor is belittling toward students while also being incompetent with technology (which is mildly entertaining for a course about technology). The work is easy but feels like busy work. A discussion post and a reply every week which I am not sure that the TAs are reading. The professor does not reply to emails of discussion board posts. This course felt like the biggest waste of time.

    Mar 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The course was fairly interesting; you learned a lot about the history of the internet. The assignments were straightforward and simple to complete. If you are doing it online, I recommend doing the discussion boards over the weekend because they are due every Wednesday to save time.

    Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Really interesting, with little drain on time and mental energy. Weekly deliverables are easy and the 3 major essays have incredibly lenient deadlines

    Oct 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

24 posts and comments in 20 threads mention HIST 216, September 2017 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

what are your 8:30s, >5PM, and online classes for next term 3 points, 5 comments

“I got another remote co-op and have learned my lesson about taking courses during the workday. anyways I've been looking over the undergrad schedule of classes and my eyes are starting to glaze over. …”

u/UoWPanda: “I’m not taking it but I saw it when selecting my courses. But if you want a pretty easy online course you can take HIST 216: Long History of the Internet.”

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Winter 2024

Spring 2023

Opinions of these Bird Courses (Fall 2023) 1 point, 7 comments

u/chomnks7: “… Could I please get some opinions of the following: HRM200, HIST216, BIOL150, CLAS201 If you have any better courses in mind(online and preferably no exam) for the fall term, plz let me know, any info will be of help:) Thankss!!”

u/Affectionate-Pop693: “… HIST 216 is more fun but a little more workload than HRM 200. You learn about the history of how humanity evolved from dumb apes writing on stones to printing books to developing the internet. …”

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What is the Internet? 35 points, 10 comments

“So I’m working in a backend role-ish. It bothers me that I’m using tools, click buttons and boom it works. Send a request using Postman or like query using DBeaver. But like, what’s behind that? …”

u/onlyinsurance-ca: “… Looks like it's available in the fall.: https://uwflow.com/course/hist216 I took the course previously. It's interesting in the sense that it ties it into information management systems, the military and a few other things. …”

u/ANewerBegining: “… If you wanna know the history take HIST 216. It goes from early communication, the printing press, telegraph, and then the internet. …”

u/djao: “… Someone suggested HIST 216 but I don't think HIST 216 contains any technical content, which is what you want.”

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Fall 2021

Spring 2021

[deleted by user] 1 point, 12 comments

u/Deputy_Dan: “Which ones are you thinking? (Look at my flair 😉)”

u/hotpinkbreakfast: “HIST 209 seems like it fits in with my program the most, so i was thinking that one. i’ve seen HIST 216 recommended a lot on this sub, so i was considering that one as well. Are there any in particular you would recommend at the 100-200 level ?”

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Spring 2020

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar