Mar Hicks

Hicks does research on the history of computing, labor, and technology. Hicks studies how collective understandings of progress are defined by competing discourses of social value and economic productivity, and how technologies often hide regressive ideals while espousing "revolutionary" or "disruptive" goals. 

Hicks is currently working on a book about the history of the dot-com boom and bust and how that has led to many of our current technological issues. Hicks's multiple award-winning first book, "Programmed Inequality" (MIT Press, 2017), looks at how the British lost their early lead in computing by discarding women computer workers, and what this cautionary tale can tell us about current issues in high tech. Hicks is also co-editor of the book "Your Computer Is On Fire" (MIT Press, 2021), a volume of essays about how we can begin to fix our broken high tech infrastructures. 

Before joining UVA, Hicks was Associate Professor of History of Technology at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, and was a fellow at the National Humanities Center in 2018-2019. Hicks holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Duke University in History, and a B.A. in History from Harvard. More information can be found at: marhicks.com.