Today, nearly every adult in the U.S. uses the internet. Wireless signals silently fill our public and private spaces. In this course, students will learn how computer networks became a medium for interpersonal communication and community. We will "reverse engineer" the technologies and technical cultures that gave rise to the global information infrastructure. Along the way, students will explore unfinished systems, abandoned experiments, and other historical "dead ends." This course takes a hands-on approach to media history and students will become familiar with the technical concepts that make the internet possible.