Syllabus
for IDS 252 Society, Ethics, and
Technology
Liberal Learning
Program, The College of New Jersey
Ralph
Edelbach, Associate Professor & Coordinator
Armstrong Hall 130 edelbach@tcnj.edu
Purpose
This course is designed to provide students with a framework for understanding ways in which human societies transform themselves through technological innovation and for assessing the social and ethical issues associated with technological change. New technologies extend human powers and enlarge social options, but also often give rise to unwanted social and environmental consequences and lead to troubling ethical problems. These general themes will be developed by means of lectures, associated course readings, classroom activities, and exercises in seminar sections during which students will explore past and present developments in various fields of technology and discuss the ethical and social issues they raise.
Course
Description
By considering seven major themes during this course, students will gain an understanding of the major impact technological change has had on human life. They will also have opportunities conduct an in-depth investigation into an area of personal interest relating to one of these topics. Because of the ethical implications of many decisions involving technology, ethical concepts will be reviewed and those principles utilized in resolving ethical dilemmas and completing an ethical case analysis.
Prerequisites None
Learning Goals
This course is primarily focused on the Worldviews and Ways of Knowing goal and outcomes of the Liberal Learning Program. Class activities and assignments are selected in order to help students “think critically about what it means to be human, and to explore and interpret the human place in the universe.” Students should be able to think critically about how “human beings are able to gain knowledge beyond the limits of their own personal experiences as they develop an understanding of the nature and role of technology and its impact on the environment and society.” Because many decisions involving technological issues have a major impact on human lives, students should be able to “formulate a point of view on the intersection of science, religion, politics, and other forms of culture,” as well as to develop the ability to make informed judgments concerning ethical values. In order to achieve these goals, this course is structured as described below.
Content:
Major Course
Themes -
Issues related to each of the major topics below will be covered.
1.
Historical Perspectives of Technology
2.
Social Perspectives of Technology
3.
Ethical Perspectives of Technology
4.
Economics, Globalization and Human Rights
5.
Information Systems Technology
6.
Biomedical Technology
7.
Population and The Environment
Class Schedule - Supplemental readings to be assigned by
instructor
Weeks
1 & 2 Introduction to course -
History of Technology /
Creativity & Problem solving
Text Readings:
Introduction, Winston
1 – 20
The Great Leap Forward,
Diamond
22 - 33
The Pinball Effect, Burke
33 - 42
Industrial Society and Technological Systems, Cowan
54 - 71
3 & 4
Sociological Aspects of Technology
Introduction of Design /
Invention / Discovery Assignment
Text Readings:
Women and the Assessment of Technology, Bush
71 - 85
Artifacts/Ideas and Political Culture, Winner
94 – 100
Democratic Rationalization, Feenberg
100 - 114
5 & 6 Ethics and
Technology
Text Readings:
Technology and Responsibility:
Reflections on the New Task of
Ethics,
Jonas
115 - 126
Technology and Social Justice, Dyson
126 - 136
Technological Subversion, Strong
149 - 161
7 & 8 Mid-Term Exam -
covering the
first six weeks of the course
Economics,
Globalization and Human Rights
Text
Readings:
International Economics, Sachs
162 - 169
The One Best Way, Postrel
169 - 180
Innovating Our Way to the Next Industrial Revolution Senge and
Carstedt
180 - 193
Globalization and Its Impact on
the Full Enjoyment
All Human Rights, United
Nations 193
- 204
9 & 10 Computers and Information
Technology
Introduction of Ethical Case Analysis
Text
Readings:
Computers and Privacy, Edgar
205 – 222
Why the Future Doesn’t Need
Us, Joy
231 - 248
Promise and Peril, Kurzweil
248 - 253
11 & 12 Biomedical
Technology
Text Readings:
Genetic Encores: The Ethics of
Human
Cloning, Wachbroit
253 – 259
Reproductive Technology, Wajcman
259 - 275
Preventing a Brave New World, Kass
275 – 287
Genetic Engineering and the
Concept of the Normal, Sagoff 287 - 297
13 & 14 Population and the
Environment
Text Readings:
The Tragedy of the Commons, Hardin
297 – 306
Stronger Evidence of Human
Influence on Climate, Trenbeth 306 -
316
A New Economy for a New Century, Brown and Flavin
316 - 323
15 Final Exam
Student
Assessment
Grades will be based on a
student's achievement on assignments, tests, quizzes and as well as class
participation.
Complete
details relevant to each assignment will be provided by the instructor and
reviewed in class.
1.
Assignments not submitted by the due date will have their grades reduced
proportional to when they are submitted, unless prior arrangements have been
made with the instructor.
2. Students will be provided with feedback by the instructor as they work on an assignment. Comments suggesting improvements will be made on all submitted work. Students will have an opportunity to incorporate these suggestions into their final submissions.
3.
Student grades may be reviewed with the instructor upon request.
Learning Activities – see class schedule established by individual instructors for due dates
Complete details of each assignment will be provided by the instructor.