Syllabus ~ Sec400 Spring 2021

About this Course

Description

Official: In-depth exploration of the social, psychological, political, and ethical issues surrounding the computer industry and the evolving information society. (Bacc Core Course, 3 credits). Prerequisites CS 101 or computer literacy. This syllabus is for the online section and some on-campus sections.

This course fulfills the synthesis requirement for Science, Technology, and Society (STS)

For people working in the advanced field of Computer Science, technological progress seems painfully slow. And yet, there are many who argue that the forces of technology are already too strong and changing the face of the earth too fast for society to cope. Given this polarity of thinking, your education demands a pause to confront the social, legal, and ethical issues presented to us by the problems and advances in the field, if we are to be socially responsible producers and consumers of technologies.

Philosophy of Teaching

Welcome class! My name is Philipp Jordan and you can call me simply Phil (or Dr. Jordan if you prefer a more formal way to address me). I am happy to be your online instructor for this class! My primary goal as your instructor is to make you feel welcome and safe by providing you with an equal, fair, and inclusive classroom environment throughout the term. While all of us might have differing points-of-view, beliefs, identities, experiences, and values, we all have one thing in common at the same time - we are human beings. As such, I ask all of you to treat each other with respect, kindness, empathy, and dignity at all times and strive toward a respectful class atmosphere throughout the term - may it be in your discussions, assignments or your conversations on slack or Canvas. If you ever feel this is not the case, please do not hesitate to contact me anytime.

Student Evaluation of Teaching

During the last week of the course you will be asked to evaluate teaching and learning related to this course. Login to the My Oregon State dashboard to participate. Instructions are located on the Academic Programs and Assessment (APA) website.

Your Feedback is greatly appreciated!

peopleExpectations

Emotional & Cultural Intelligence

The following is adapted from Dr. Susan Shaw, Oregon State University

• Make a personal commitment to learning about, understanding, and supporting your peers.
• Assume the best of others in the class and expect the best from them.
• Acknowledge the impact of sexism, racism, ethnocentrism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, and ableism on the lives of class members.
• Recognize and value the experiences, abilities, and knowledge each person brings to class. Value the diversity of the class.
• Participate actively in the discussions, having completed the readings and thought about the issues.
• Pay close attention to what your classmates write in their online comments. Ask clarifying questions, when appropriate. These questions are meant to probe and shed new light, not to minimize or devalue comments.
• Think through and re-read your comments before you post them.
• Never make derogatory comments toward another person in the class.
• Do not make sexist, racist, homophobic, or victim-blaming comments at all.
• Disagree with ideas, but do not make personal attacks.
• Be open to being challenged or confronted with your ideas or prejudices.
• Challenge others with the intent of facilitating growth. Do not demean or embarrass others.
• Encourage others to develop and share their ideas.
• Be willing to change.

Practice Professionalism

By the time you finish this course and leave the university, you will want to have practiced appropriate ways to communicate in writing so that you appear professional at all times. NACE's Job Outlook 2018 lists attributes employers want to see on new college graduates' resumes. Written Communication Skills is in the top 3! Remember that when you communicate online, you cannot provide eye contact and body language to help explain yourself, so your message may be misunderstood. Sometimes the thread of a message is lost, making readers rely on memory (which is often faulty). And if you need the reader to act on your request, good manners will help you be successful.

Some of the topics we'll cover in this class will evoke negative feelings. So that the sharing of those feelings is met with support and not more negativity, our behavior towards each other will remain civil. We will use our best manners when questioning ideas so that all students (as well as the instructor and teaching assistants) feel safe and not alienated or bullied. This is the way of the world...without manners, the world descends into chaos.

If you feel you are being harassed or bullied in this course, please report it to the instructor immediately. Describe the situation and provide links to the locations of the harassment so the instructor can address it.

Any students who do not follow the guidelines above will be dealt with in the following ways:

1. A private message from the instructor asking for a behavior change.
2. Reporting to the Student Conduct office
   (OSU Bullying Policy)
3. Reporting to the Equal Opportunity office
   (OSU Student Conduct Reporting)