Syllabus Computer Ethics
Philosophy 3410/CSCI2050 Computer Ethics Spring 2020
| Instructor: | Jim McCollum (james.mccollum@slu.edu) |
| Meeting time: | Tuesday and Thursday 11-12:15 |
| Location: | 314 Ritter Hall |
| Office hours: | T/Thur 11:00-1:00 in via Calendly https://calendly.com/mccollum-philosophy/computer-ethics-virtual-office-hours |
| or by appointment | |
| Course materials: | app.perusall.com (Access via BB) |
Course Description
The integration of computers into all of our lives has greatly changed society. The way we access information and communicate have been transformed. With each new technology that gets adopted novel ethical and political questions arise.
As the particular technology's use becomes widespread, it changes our culture. Are these changes for the good? Many of these changes and issues come about from purely technical decisions where the long-term effects are not obvious.
This course is an introduction to thinking about these issues in a systematic manner through an ethical lens. We will confront a number of issues in computing and question their changes to our privacy and property rights, their effects on our security, and their relations to justice and fairness.
Course goal
To be able to analyze computing technologies for morally problematic issues and develop ethical arguments for the acceptability/unacceptability of these taking all stakeholders into account.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- analyze the impact of new technologies on society
- use tools of moral disclosure and issue definition to identify moral issues raised by new digital technologies.
- describe the ways that the ethics of respect, virtue ethics, and consequentialism can contribute to moral disclosure and cyberethical evaluation.
- articulate objections and relevant considerations posed by perspectives other than their own, and can fashion their arguments to have broad appeal across perspectives.
- construct cogent moral arguments based on research into cyberpractices, using the framework developed in the course.
- demonstrate a good faith ability to contribute to the class as a community of inquiry.
Required Materials
All Required Materials will be available on-line via Blackboard or Perusall.
Major topics
The course will be broken in a few units:
- Professional ethics and issue identification
- Application of normative ethics to computer ethics
- A dialogical approach to addressing cyberethical practices
- Defining and applying moral concepts
- Group projects and individual papers
Evaluation
For the first half of the course, your primary out-of-class activities will involved preparation for the next class meeting. During the second half off the course you will also be working on a group project and final paper.
Prior to class
- Perusall readings These reading will be from Cogent Cyberethics by William Rehg and other materials provided by the instructors. These readings are the primary course content on computer ethics and our method for analyzing moral issues that arise in the use of computing technology. To be prepared for class, you need to go through these readings carefully as they will be the basis for what we will be doing in class.
All course readings will be available on Perusall. As part of the reading assignment, you can discuss the readings on-line and ask questions of your classmates. To receive full credit for the readings you must actively participate the discussion.
Access Perusall by creating an account app.perusall.com.
- Other Occasional Assignments
During class
Class time will be devoted to achieving a higher level of understanding of the materials and developing skills in ethical argumentation through examining case studies. We will be doing a variety of discussions, individual and group work during class to work towards our goals. It is imperative that you come to class prepared to fully engage the material.
Attendance
You may miss 4 classes without any deduction of your grade. Thereafter, your absences will count against you.
Grading
Grades will be calculated as follows:
| Pre-class activities | 30% | |
| In-class activities | 20% | 10% of this grade will come from online activities |
| Midterm | 20% | |
| Group presentation | 10% | |
| Final paper | 20% |
Final grades
Based on their cumulative scores students will be guaranteed at least the following grades:
| 93% - 100% | A | 77% - 80% | C+ | |
| 90% - 93% | A- | 73% - 77% | C | |
| 87% - 90% | B+ | 70% - 73% | C- | |
| 83% - 87% | B | 60% - 70% | D | |
| 80% - 83% | B- |
At the discretion of the instructors, students can be given a higher grade than specified by the standard curve but never lower.
Pre-class activities (30%)
Perusall will be a primary site of discussion when the class moves online
Perusall readings will be graded on a two point scale. The lowest 10% of pre-class assignments will be dropped. No late assignments will be be excepted except for extreme documented situations.
Longer impromptu class assignments will be evaluated critically. This may include short papers, reflections, or outlines.
In-class activities/ Learning Activities (20%)
Each in-class activity will be graded on a 0-1 scale. You will receive full credit if you are actively engaged in the exercise. The lowest 10% of pre-class assignments will be dropped. You must be present to receive these points and will only be excused for extreme documented situations.
After the course moves online, each week students will have approximately two learning activities about the topic for this week's assignments.
Exams, project and paper (50%)
These will be critically evaluated to judge your mastery of the course material.
FINAL PAPER (30%)
- Cyberpractice (3%)
Due: 4/6/2020 by 8:00am
Write a summary of the a cyberpractice that you believe deserves moral evaluation. Include a simple bibliography (just links) of sources.
- Cyberpractice (2%) meeting
Meeting Days: 4/14 or 4/16
Meet with me for 10-15 minutes in Zoom to talk about your paper. You will schedule your appointment with me through Calendly. I will announce a link.
- Rough Draft (10%)
Due: 4/27 by 8am
Write a rough draft of approximately 10 pages by April 24th, 2020.
- Rough Draft Meeting (5%)
Meeting Days: 5/5, 5/7, 5/12
Meet with me on Zoom about your rough draft. Be prepared to answer questions about the content and structure of your paper. You will schedule your appointment with me through Calendly. I will announce a link.
- Final Paper (10%)
Turn in one final paper of 10-12 pages (3000 words) that evaluates a cyberpractice acccording to the method in the textbook.
College and University Policies
Please see https://www.slu.edu/arts-and-sciences/faculty-resources/syllabi-statements.php for details on policies and services regarding:
Academic Honesty
Academic integrity is honest, truthful and responsible conduct in all academic endeavors. The mission of Saint Louis University is ``the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity.'' Accordingly, all acts of falsehood demean and compromise the corporate endeavors of teaching, research, health care, and community service through which SLU embodies its mission. The University strives to prepare students for lives of personal and professional integrity and therefore regards all breaches of academic integrity as matters of serious concern.
The governing University-level Academic Integrity Policy was adopted in Spring 2015, and can be accessed on the Provost's Office website: https://www.slu.edu/the-office-of-the-provost/academic-affairs-policies
Additionally, each SLU college, school and center has adopted its own academic integrity policies, available on their respective websites. All SLU students are expected to know and abide by these policies, which detail definitions of violations, processes for reporting violations, sanctions, and appeals. Please direct questions about any facet of academic integrity to your faculty, the chair of the department of your academic program, or the dean/director of the college, school or center in which your program is housed.
Specific College of Arts and Sciences Academic Honesty Policies and Procedures may be found at http://www.slu.edu/arts-and-sciences/student-resources/academic-honesty.php
Title IX
Saint Louis University and its faculty are committed to supporting our students and seeking an environment that is free of bias, discrimination and harassment. If you have encountered any form of sexual misconduct (e.g. sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, domestic or dating violence), we encourage you to report this to the University.
If you speak with a faculty member about an incident of misconduct, that faculty member must notify SLU's Title IX coordinator, Anna R. Kratky (DuBourg Hall, room 36; anna.kratky@slu.edu; 314-977-3886) and share the basic fact of your experience with her. The Title IX coordinator will then be available to assist you in understanding all of your options and in connecting you with all possible resources on and off campus.
If you wish to speak with a confidential source, you may contact the counselors at the University Counseling Center at 314-977-TALK. SLU's sexual misconduct policy can be found at http://www.slu.edu/general-counsel-home/office-of-institutional-equity-and-diversity/sexual-misconduct-policy
Disability services
Students with a documented disability who wish to request academic accommodations are encouraged to contact Disability Services to discuss accommodation requests and eligibility requirements.
Please contact Disability Services, located within the Student Success Center, at disability\services@slu.edu or 314-977-3484 to schedule an appointment. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries.
Once approved, information about academic accommodations will be shared with course instructors via email from Disability Services and viewed within Banner via the instructor's course roster.