Here’s a draft day-by-day schedule for the course. I’ll be updating this as we go, so check back here for the latest version of the schedule throughout the semester.
The “Modality” column describes how we will conduct class that day.
- Hybrid = I will be teaching class from Buttrick 301, and all students are encouraged to participate in person. However, I’ll make remote participation available for students who can’t be there.
- Zoom = I will be teaching class on Zoom. Check Brightspace for the Zoom link.
- Async = On asynchronous days, students will have a set of activities to complete, but we won’t be meeting synchronously as a class, either in person or on Zoom.
- TBD = To be determined
| Week | Date | Topic | Modality | What’s Due |
| 1 | Mon, 1/25 | Course Introduction | Hybrid | |
| Wed, 1/27 | Substitution Ciphers | Hybrid | Introductions | |
| Fri, 1/29 | Classical Cryptography | Hybrid | Singh Ch. 1 & Quick Survey |
|
| 2 | Mon, 2/1 | Modular Arithmetic | Hybrid | Bookmark |
| Wed, 2/3 | Privacy & Surveillance (Part 1) | Async | Async Activities | |
| Fri, 2/5 | Decimation Ciphers | Hybrid | 99pi: Perfect Security | |
| 3 | Mon, 2/8 | Prime Numbers | Hybrid | |
| Wed, 2/10 | Zodiac Ciphers | Async | Async Activities | |
| Fri, 2/12 | Transposition Ciphers | Hybrid | Problem Set #1 | |
| 4 | Mon, 2/15 | Frequency Analysis | Zoom (Snow) | |
| Wed, 2/17 | Little Brother (Part 1) | Async | Async Activities | |
| Fri, 2/19 | Who’s Winning? | Zoom (Snow) | Singh Ch. 2 | |
| 5 | Mon, 2/22 | Flex Day Mastery Quiz #1 |
Hybrid | |
| Wed, 2/24 | Little Brother (Part 2) In-Class Reading Day |
Zoom | Little Brother | |
| Fri, 2/26 | The Vigenère Cipher | Hybrid | Problem Set #2 | |
| 6 | Mon, 3/1 | Paper Workshop | Hybrid | Draft of Paper #1 |
| Wed, 3/3 | Writing Day | Async | Async Activities | |
| Fri, 3/5 | Breaking the Vigenère | Hybrid | Paper #1 | |
| 7 | Mon, 3/8 | The Friedman Test | Hybrid | |
| Wed, 3/10 | Revision Workshop | Async | Async Activities | |
| Fri, 3/12 | Crypto Goes to War | Hybrid | Singh Ch. 3 | |
| 8 | Mon, 3/15 | Code Girls | Async | Problem Set #3 Async Activities |
| Wed, 3/17 | Privacy & Surveillance (Part 2) | Async | Paper #1 (Revised) Async Activities |
|
| Fri, 3/19 | Breaking the Enigma | Async | Singh Ch. 4 and Ch. 5 Async Activities |
|
| 9 | Mon, 3/22 | Enigma Combinatorics Mastery Quiz #2 |
Hybrid | |
| Wed, 3/24 | Podcast Workshop #1 | Async | Async Activities | |
| Fri, 3/26 | Flex Day | Hybrid | ||
| 10 | Mon, 3/29 | Computer Ciphers | Hybrid | Problem Set #4 |
| Wed, 3/31 | Podcast Workshop #2 | Async | Async Activities Podcast Topic & Sources |
|
| Fri, 4/2 | RSA Encryption (Part 1) | Hybrid | Singh Ch. 6 | |
| 11 | Mon, 4/5 | RSA Encryption (Part 2) | Hybrid | |
| Wed, 4/7 | Flex Day In-Class Reading Day |
Zoom | ||
| Fri, 4/9 | Podcast Workshop #3 | Hybrid | Podcast Outline | |
| 12 | Mon, 4/12 | Privacy & Surveillance (Part 3) | Hybrid | Singh Ch. 7 |
| Wed, 4/14 | Citizenfour | Zoom | Podcast | |
| Fri, 4/16 | Snowden Mastery Quiz #3 |
Hybrid | Problem Set #5 | |
| 13 | Mon, 4/19 | It’s Complicated | Hybrid | boyd Ch. 2 |
| Wed, 4/21 | Paper Workshop | Async | Async Activities | |
| Fri, 4/23 | Listening Day / Debate Prep | Async | Async Activities | |
| 14 | Mon, 4/26 | Privacy & Surveillance (The Debate) | Hybrid | |
| Wed, 4/28 | Flex Day | Zoom | Paper #2 | |
| Fri, 4/30 | Course Wrap-Up | Hybrid |
Please note two additional dates:
- The final exam for this course (for those who need to take it) will be held on Tuesday, May 4th, from 9am to 11am.
- The revised version of your second paper will be due Thursday, May 6th, at midnight.
