Prof. Franklin
Time and Location: Tues Wed 2:10pm-4:40pm (207 Wellman)
Office Hours (Kemper 3021): TBA
Schedule for oral
presentations
here.
Grades for short write-ups here.
NOTE (6/24): The schedule of course readings has changed.
Textbook: Society, Ethics, and Technology (5th edition), by Morton Winston and Ralph Edelbach, Thomson-Wadsworth.
Catalog Description (Course Outline): foundations of ethics, views of technology, technology and human values, costs and benefits of ntechnology, the character of technological change, the social context of work in computer science and engineering.
Expanded course description here. This course is developed by Prof. Phil Rogaway, and we will follow his overall structure and methods.
Grading: Your grade in this class will depend (roughly) on the following factors:
Classroom participation (30%): You are expected to participate fully in all of the classroom discussions. Please feel free to express your views.
Review reports (30%): These are brief reports (1-2 pages) on our course readings. Each review report must be turned in at the start of the class at which that course reading is discussed.
Term project (40%): This will be a deeper analysis of a topic,
including a written report (approx. 10 pages, with citations, in any
reasonable format), and an oral presentation (approx. 8 minutes, no
powerpoint, no script, written notes only). Here is
a
list of books that could be used for topics (although I have
considered a very wide variety of topics to be suitable as well, so
check with me beforehand if you have some other ideas you would like
to pursue). There is one optional milestone for your paper: A 3-4
page draft, which is due Wed 15 July. The due date for your written
report is Wed 29 July. Please email your written report (and optional
milestone) to me (at franklin@cs.ucdavis.edu).
Class Policies: All written material submitted must be legible. Late work will not be accepted without a doctor's excuse. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated.
Supplemental Material: The course readings are intended to be self-contained, but you might find it helpful to consult a good basic introduction to ethical decision making, such as "A Framework for Thinking Ethically", Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, 2008 (originally in Issues in Ethics:1(2), Winter 1988).
Class Schedule:
Tues 23 June:
in-class activities: Watch and discuss "Decalogue I".
read for next class: nothing.
Wed 24 June:
in-class activities: read and
discuss IEEE
Code of Ethics; read and
discuss Justice, price
gouging.
read for next class (and write
report):
Brin, The Transparent Society..
Tues 30 June:
in-class activities: discuss Brin; read and discuss
Justice, trolley hypothetical, Afghan goatherd incident.
read for next class (and write report): Emily
Pronin,
How We See Ourselves and How We See Others, Science:320, May
2008.
Wed 1 July: in-class activities: discuss Pronin; read and
discuss: Justice,
utilitarianism, (Justice, missing
page).
read for next class (and write report): Cowan, "Industrial Society and Technological Systems".
Tues 7 July: in-class activities: discuss Cowan; read and discuss
Justice,
libertarianism.
read for next class (and write report):
Davis, "Constructing the Professional Responsibility of
Engineers".
Wed 8 July: in-class activities: discuss Davis; read and
discuss Justice, civilian
draft.
read for next class: (and write report): Sharkey,
"The Automation and Proliferation of Military Drones and the
Protection of Civilians".
Tues 14 July: in-class activities: discuss Sharkey; read and
discuss Justice,
Kant, Justice,
Rawls, Justice,
Aristotle.
read for next class (and write report): Carr, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?".
Wed 15 July: in-class activities: discuss Carr; watch and discuss "Food, Inc."
read for next class: nothing..
Tues 21 July: in-class activities: watch and discuss "The Corporation"
read for next class: nothing
Wed 22 July: Watch and discuss "The Corporation"
Tues 28 July: in-class student presentations
Wed 29 July: in-class student presentations