Reference materials:
The first day of classes is Thursday, August 18, 2016. The last day to withdraw without failure is Monday, October 10, 2016. There will be no final exam for this course. Therefore, you may ignore the rest of this paragraph. The final exam for the course will last two and a half hours and will take place on Thursday, December 8, 2016, at 1930 in the classroom (300 Main St B213). This is the regularly scheduled time for courses taught from 1800 to 1850 on Thursdays. (See the university exam schedule.) See here (html version) or here (pdf version) for the fall 2016 academic calendar.
| Day | Topic |
|---|---|
| (1) August 18 | Philosophical inventory; Introduction; The Computer as a humanizing agent (Chs.1-2 [B]) |
| (2) August 25 | What is Computer Ethics? Definitions by Walter Maner, Deborah Johnson, James Moor, Terrell Ward Bynum, and Donald Gotterbarn (Ch.1 [B] and readings). |
| (3)September 1 | Philosophic Belief Systems: Idealism and Realism (Ch 3 [B]) |
| (4) September 8 | Talk on careers by Ms. Emma Waugh of the USC Career Center: Preparing for the Career Fair (confirmed) |
| (5) September 15 | Philosophic Belief Systems: Pragmatism and Existentialism (Ch 3 [B]). The possibility of a unifying ethical theory (Ch. 5 [B]) |
| (6) September 22 | The ethical decision-making process (Ch. 6 [B]). |
| (7) September 29 | The ethical decision-making process, ctd. |
| (8) October 6 | Psychology and computer ethics (Ch.7 [B]). The computing field as a profession (Ch.8 [B]). |
| October 13 | Fall Break |
| (9) October 20 | Presentation by Prof. Duncan Buell on Voting Machines. |
| (10) October 27 | Presentation by Dr. Ioannis Rekleitis on Ethical Issues in Robotics. |
| (11) November 3 | Computer-related codes of ethics (Ch.9 [B]). Three case studies for the Joint Software Engineer's Code. |
| (12) November 10 | |
| (13) November 17 | Presentation by Dr. Csilla Farkas on Computer Security and Information Assurance |
| November 24 | Thanksgiving Recess |
| (14) December 1 | Student Presentations |