Variations in Computing Science’s Disciplinary Diversity: The case of curricula recommendations LUIZ ERNESTO MERKLE Centro Federal de Educa¸c˜ ao Tecnol´ ogica do Paran´ a and ROBERT MERCER the University of Western Ontario The academic communities directly associated with computing science have varied their scope across a significant part of their development. This article graphically explores the historical de- velopment of informatics using the trajectory of curricula recommendations in computing science. The usual description of informatics as an ever expanding field is challenged facing the disciplinary diversity found in the ACM computing curricula recommendations and related documents. In- deed, in a first period the disciplinary diversity fostered by the community was reduced. This reduction of diversity was accompanied by an increase in the depth of a few branches, structuring Informatics in areas such as computer engineering, computing science, and information systems. Later on, Informatics’s footprint has increased, demanding a renewal of its disciplinary structure, which triggered the emergence of new related occupations. The graphic representations proposed here mediate a discussion of current professional tendencies, illustrating that Informatics’ history is more rich than it is usually seen. Categories and Subject Descriptors: K.3.0 [Computers and Education]: General—historical tendencies; K.3.1 [Computers and Education]: Occupations—interdisciplinary relations; K.3.2 [Computers and Education]: Organizations—professional consolidation General Terms: Design, Documentation, Human Factors Additional Key Words and Phrases: History of Informatics, Disciplinary Diversity, Curricula Recommendations 1. INTRODUCTION A set of disciplinary events and transformations took place across Informatics life- span. As Informatics’ areas of expertise developed and explored niches, they not only matured, but also established a corresponding division of labor. Throughout the process, unexplored gaps, abandoned niches, and reinforced barriers enabled the emergence, the maintenance, or the decay of disciplinary practices, old and new. It is usual to describe Informatics related disciplines, such as the ones focusing on computing and information systems, as being in a rapid and constant expansion, as having an identity grounded on a constant innovation, and as being the foundations for an envisioned social revolution. Nevertheless, it has not been critically questioned how the disciplinary profile Authors’s address: Luiz Ernesto Merkle, Departamento Acadˆ emico de Inform´atica (DAINF), CEFET-PR Centro Federal de Educa¸c˜ ao Tecnol´ogica do Paran´ a, Av. Sete de Setembro, 3165 - Centro, Curitiba, PR, Brazil, 80230-901. This article is partially based on [Merkle 2002, Chapter 1]. Part of this work was supported by the Brazilian Government through the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (CNPq, National Research and Development Council). Informatics Curricula, Teaching Methods and Best Practice, Vol. V, No. N, Month 20YY, Pages 1–0??.