Presentation for COMP 3309 (Computers and Society), a third-year course in our CIS degree. This presentation provides a quick overview of the themes and approach used in the course.

2. What is this course about?
A study of the relationship between information
technology and the rest of society and its individuals.

3. Specific Topics include:
Thinking about Technology
Thi ki b tT h l
Historical Context of Computerization
Privacy and Surveillance
P i dS ill
Community
Intellectual Property
I t ll t l P t
Free Speech
Identity
Id tit and Virtuality
d Vi t lit
Work and Economics

4. Classic/ACM Approach to This Type of Course:
Learn some evaluative ethical approaches
(e.g.,
(e g utilitarian vs universalist)
Use these ethical approaches to
evaluate and judge various high-tech
issues.

5. You’re bad!
(i.e.
(i you have been engaging i morally wrong
h b i in ll
technological practice).

6. public void TeachSocialIssuesCourse() {
EthicalTheories[] ethics = TeachRulesOfEthicalEvaluation();
foreach (SocialIssue issue in issuesList) {
Impacts[] impacts = ArticulateSocialImpacts(issue);
EthicallyEvaluateImpacts(issue, impacts, ethics);
}
TeachProfessionalCodes();
}

7. This algorithmic approach and the
g pp
understanding of the relationship between
society and technology that it is grounded
upon has some real limitations and may in
fact give our students an impoverished
understanding of the social issues of
computation.

8. Impact Approach to
Computers and Society
In this approach, technology
is an independent force …

9. … and the social world is
“impacted” by the
technology.

10. The whole "impacts" approach is
impacts
extremely flawed from a social
theory point of view.
It is also ethically irresponsible as well
in that it ultimately inculcates a kind of
powerless passivity towards
technology.

11. My Approach to
Computers and
Society
Initial course focus will be
on examining a variety of
ways of thinking about
technology.

12. Part of the initial focus will also be on
history and context.

13. We will be opening up the box
of technological practices for
understanding
and
interrogating the assumptions
we b i
bring to those practices.
h i

14. Part of that process will be a
using displaced practices such
as paper reading
and
hand-written journaling.