Historical periods, sources, archives, and reference material used to study cultural, technological, economic, institutional, and civilizational change.
04.01 — The Renaissance
Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
Giorgio Vasari · Artist biographies / historical source · 1550 / 1568
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci · Manuscripts, drawings & observations · c. 1470s–1519
The Medici Archive Project
Medici Archive Project · Digital historical archive · Renaissance-era primary documents
04.02 — The Enlightenment
Encyclopédie
Denis Diderot & Jean le Rond d’Alembert, eds. · Encyclopedic project · 1751–1772
A Treatise of Human Nature
David Hume · Philosophical primary source · 1739–1740
What Is Enlightenment?
Immanuel Kant · Philosophical essay · 1784
04.03 — The Industrial Revolution
The Condition of the Working Class in England
Friedrich Engels · Social and industrial observation · 1845
On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures
Charles Babbage · Industrial production & machinery · 1832
British Industrial Revolution Collections
Science Museum Group · Objects, archives & historical collections · 18th–19th centuries
04.04 — Information Age
As We May Think
Vannevar Bush · The Atlantic Monthly · 1945
A Mathematical Theory of Communication
Claude E. Shannon · Bell System Technical Journal · 1948
The Computer History Museum Collections
Computer History Museum · Computing history archive · Ongoing
04.05 — Internet History
A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication
Vinton G. Cerf & Robert E. Kahn · IEEE Transactions on Communications · 1974
Information Management: A Proposal
Tim Berners-Lee · CERN · 1989
Internet History Archives
Internet Archive · Digital archive · Ongoing
04.06 — Creator Economy
The State of the Creator Economy
Industry research · Various organizations and editions
Creator Economy Research
SignalFire · Industry research · Various publications
Creator Economy Reports & Platform Research
Platform and industry publications · Ongoing
04.07 — Artificial Intelligence
Computing Machinery and Intelligence
Alan M. Turing · Mind · 1950
A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester & Claude Shannon · Research proposal · 1955
AI Index Report
Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence · Annual report · Ongoing
04.08 — Institutional History
The Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith · Political economy / institutional history · 1776
The Nature of the Firm
Ronald H. Coase · Institutional economics · 1937
Historical Statistics and Institutional Archives
National statistical agencies, government archives & international institutions · Ongoing
04.09 — Future of Work
The Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren
John Maynard Keynes · Economic essay · 1930
The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?
Carl Benedikt Frey & Michael A. Osborne · Oxford Martin School · 2013
Future of Jobs Report
World Economic Forum · Recurring report