Reference materials:
The first day of classes is Thursday, August 24, 2018.
The last day to withdraw without failure is Monday, October 15, 2018.
The last day of classes is Thursday, December 6, 2018.
There will be no final exam for this course.
See
here (html version)
for the fall 2018 academic calendar.
Phones, tablets, laptops, and similar devices must be turned off during
class.
| Day | Topic |
|---|---|
| (1) August 24 | Philosophical inventory; Introduction; The Computer as a humanizing agent (Chs.1-2 [B]) |
| (2) August 31 | 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 6 | Philosophic Belief Systems: Idealism and Realism (Ch 3 [B]) |
| (4) September 13 | Class canceled due to inclement weather |
| (5) September 20 | Talk on careers by Christine Mosich (CEC Experiential Education Manager) of the USC Career Center: Preparing for the Career Fair |
| (6) September 27 | Philosophic Belief Systems: Pragmatism and Existentialism (Ch 3 [B]). The possibility of a unifying ethical theory (Ch. 5 [B]) |
| (7) October 4 | |
| (8) October 11 | Philosophic Belief Systems: Pragmatism and Existentialism (Ch 3 [B]). The possibility of a unifying ethical theory (Ch. 5 [B]) |
| October 18 | Fall Break |
| (9) October 25 | Presentation by Prof. Duncan Buell on Voting Machines. |
| (10) November 1 | The ethical decision-making process (Ch. 6 [B]). The computing field as a profession (Ch.8 [B]). |
| (11) November 8 | Psychology and computer ethics (Ch.7 [B]). |
| (12) November 16 | Computer-related codes of ethics (Ch.9 [B]). Three case studies for the Joint Software Engineer's Code. Cases for the new (2018) version of the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, adopted on June 22, 2018. The version of the ACM code in [B] is the original one from 1992. |
| (13) November 23 | Thanksgiving Recess |
| (14) November 30 | Student Presentations |
| (15) December 7 | Student Presentations |