COMP 380-003 Computers
& Society Spring 2008
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This
course is directed toward undergraduate students* who wish to
understand the impact, in particular, of computer technology, and, in
general, of what has been termed high technology, on the institutions,
beliefs, values, tastes, activities, ideals, paradigms, and processes
of our society.
This survey course is designed to introduce you to a wide variety of
relevant topics. Some topics will be covered in more depth than
others—for the latter, we hope to expose you to just enough information
to entice you to explore on your own.
You should acquire much expertise in one particular topic area which
you will explore via your term team project.
*COMP 380 is
designed specifically for non
C.S./IT-related or technical majors/specialists and for those
who have
not already taken a similar course. It starts from scratch and
assumes little to no background knowledge. While C.S. and other
IT-related majors can enroll, they are hereby warned that we will not
cover the more in-depth issues that are of concern specifically to
computer scientists and information specialists (for example:
industry standards and standards bodies; problems with securing a
network; etc.).
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Have a
very
basic understanding of how computers are (logically) organized, what
they do, and the general manner in which they do it.
- Identify
a
number of deleterious side effects of computer and I.T. use on social,
psychological, philosophical, and political attitudes and institutions.
- Analyze
and
evaluate arguments on multiple sides of a controversial issue, and
write a well structured, logically coherent essay that takes a
particular stance and argues for it successfully, with plenty of
relevant and supporting evidence.
- Work
cooperatively and effectively as a team member, write a collaborative
paper, and deliver a well
developed, informative, creative presentation.<
Note:
This class will not teach programming concepts or computer
operations. If you are looking for an intro course, which
includes fundamental computer concepts as well as hands-on experience
with popular software, we suggest you consider COMP 101 or 102 (coming
soon).
Last
update: 12 March 2008