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Course Outline: This course explores issues of personal and social morality in the context of the technological developments related to the use of information and communication technology (ICT). ICT includes computer systems and digital media, as well as modern means of communication such as the Internet and wireless devices.
The first part of the course is devoted to constructing a framework within which these issues can be analyzed: the basis of ethical theories, and their application to practical decisions in life. Then specific issues such as privacy, intellectual property, and freedom of expression will be explored in a series of lectures. The last few weeks of the course are organized around a series of student-presented papers. In the papers, the students are expected to analyze ethical issues raised by the use of ICT.
The topics of the papers presented by students may be selected from areas such as the following: intellectual property, software piracy, music and video piracy, on-line privacy, defective software, misuse of software, computer crime, viruses and hacking, cryptography and national security, and computer communication and freedom of expression. This list is not intended to be definitive, and students are encouraged to find other relevant topics of interest.
Most of the resources for this class are on the Blackboard web site. For convenience, the syllabus, due dates, and schedule of presentations are also available on the publicly accessible web page:
It is not necessary for the students to have any specialized training in computer or information science. Most of the issues can be understood without any detailed knowledge of the workings of the underlying technology. In any case, the analysis of these issues from a moral perspective is not dependent on their technological basis.
This course fulfills the core requirement of an EP4 / Senior Values
Seminar. It also applies to the American Studies, Communications, and
New Media & Digital Design majors. It is not applicable as a major
or minor elective in Computer Science or Information Science.
Course Objectives: At the end of this course, students will be able to:
Protocol: Attendance is mandatory, and is graded. Attendance grades are posted on the Blackboard grade book and updated within a day or two of each class meeting. The attendance grade for a given day is on a scale of 5 points. Students get 3 points for mere presence. Points are added, up to a maximum score of 5 points, depending on the amount of contribution to class discussion: a score of 4 is for participating a little, and 5 for participating a lot. Students who give a presentation automatically receive a score of 5 for that day. Points may be deducted for lateness or for anything else that interferes with the conduct of the class, so grades below 3 are also possible. An unexcused absence or extreme lateness receives a grade of 0. Students may request in advance to be excused from class for a valid reason. (Excused absences appear in the Blackboard grade book as an “x” and are not counted in the total grade.)
Students are expected to arrive on time for class. If you do arrive late, please enter the classroom quietly so as not to disrupt the class in session. If you are expecting to receive papers back, wait and ask me at the end of class.
Students are expected to remain until the end of class, barring a true emergency. If you know in advance that you will need to leave early, inform me before the start of class, and sit near the door so that you can leave without causing a disruption.
Please turn off all cell phones, beepers, etc. during class. Laptops and tape recorders are not permitted unless as an accommodation approved by the Office of Disability Services.
Course grade is based on:
Late papers will be accepted, but with a penalty that increases with time. The essays will be based on material discussed in class and on the assigned readings, and due at the next class meeting after they are assigned. The grade for the presentation will include components for the preview and study guide (described below). The grades for the term papers will factor in promptness of submission of the proposals, drafts, and the papers themselves.
The midterm and final papers are to be based on library research and written in proper scholarly style, with references for all sources consulted. See the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, The Chicago Manual of Style, or similar work for guidelines on proper citation style. I request a proposal and first draft of each paper, four weeks and two weeks, respectively, before the due date of the paper itself. The first draft is expected to be well along, at least 2/3 of final length, and including some citations to sources consulted. Based on the proposal and draft I provide feedback to improve the final product. They are not graded, but failure to provide them on time will reduce the grade for the paper. Term papers will be accepted late, but with a penalty that increases with time. Papers may be handed in early, but this does not excuse you from providing the proposal and first draft.
The student presentations are to be about 20-25 minutes long, followed by a few minutes of discussion led by the presenter. I request a preview consisting of an outline and a copy of the slides (if the presentation will use slides) one week before the presentation, so that I can provide feedback and guidance for improving the presentation. After each presentation, the other students will fill out evaluations including written comments to provide feedback about the effectiveness of the presentation. These evaluations will be one factor in the presentation grade. I will provide each presenter with my own constructive comments and an explanation of the grade assigned for the presentation.
Readings from the text will be assigned accompanying the lectures. Any outside readings will be provided either by links to available web sources or by posting on Blackboard.
The final exam will consist of a set of questions to be answered with short essays. The questions will be based on topics covered in the student presentations, and will probe your understanding of the ethical issues raised by those topics. You will be expected to analyze those issues based on the ethical foundations covered in the first part of the course. To aid students' studying for the exam, I request each presenter to provide a study guide for their presentation, to be submitted by the last class meeting date. These study guides will be posted on Blackboard. The study guide should be an outline or detailed abstract, at most about 2 pages long, that identifies the main social and ethical issues raised by your topic. I also request a copy of your slides to post along with your study guide. Late submissions of the study guides will not be accepted, since anything posted after the due date will be of little use for the other students to study from.
Academic integrity is very important to the mission of the university. Plagiarism or failure to properly cite sources will result in an F on the paper and may result in an F for the course. You are responsible for and expected to follow the Fordham University policy regarding matters of academic integrity.
The Undergraduate Faculty Handbook states: “For four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes [per week], the additional credit is earned by requiring three additional hours of class preparation per week in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.” My expectation is that this additional required time outside class will be used to do thorough and careful research work for the two term papers, using the university library's databases to locate quality scholarly articles, reading them carefully, and following up citations in them to discover other sources.
If you are a student with a documented disability and require academic accommodations, please register with the Office of Disability Services for Students (ODS) in order to request academic accommodations for your courses. Please contact the main ODS number at 718-817-0655 to arrange services. Accommodations are not retroactive, so you need to register with ODS prior to receiving your accommodations. Please see me after class or during office hours if you have questions or would like to submit your academic accommodation letter to me if you have previously registered for accommodations.
Schedule of Topics, Readings and Assignments:
Read Spinello, ch. 1.
Read Spinello, ch. 2.
Proposal for Midterm Paper due.
Essay 1 assigned.
Read Johnson, ch. 7 (posted on Blackboard).
Read Spinello, ch. 3.
Essay 2 assigned.
First draft of Midterm Paper due.
Read Spinello, ch. 4.
Midterm Research Paper due.
Essay 3 assigned.
Read Spinello, ch. 5.
Read Spinello, ch. 6.
Essay 4 assigned.
Proposal for Final Paper due.
First draft of Final Paper due.
Final Research Paper due.
Study Guides due.
