Assignments

Reading

You are expected to complete assigned readings in advance of in-class discussion so that you come prepared. Discussions require a much deeper engagement with a topic – reading about a topic in advance will help you to engage in productive and critical discussions. We’ll spend the bulk of the time discussing the concepts/ideas presented in the readings, so if you haven’t read it, it will be hard to discuss them as a group.

List of Readings

This list will be updated as the semester progresses. These readings are available on Canvas (where you are expected to put some of your notes).

Writing

This is a Writing Intensive course, and written communication is a core learning outcome.

Writing in CSCI 3921w mirrors the practices of professionals and researchers in computing: writing is carried out iteratively, collaboratively where appropriate, and always with the goal of producing communication that is complete, clear, and technically rigorous. Writing in this course takes several forms:

Reflective Journal

In-class Discussions There is a lot of nuance, context, values, tensions, and complexity in general when it comes to social, legal, and ethical issues in computing. We are going to be discussing the different ways that people view these issues. For that reason, classroom discussion is a central tool to help build awareness about these diverse, complex phenomena.

Lecture time will be arranged around discussions. After each in-class discussion you will have 10 minutes to write down your reflection on what was discussed. You should reflect on 1) What you learned from the discussion (something that surprised you, something you had not considered before, a new way of thinking of something, etc.), 2) What you wish you’d learned from the discussion (what questions you have). You will be doing that in a Google doc that you will share with me only (your classmates will not have access to this).

This journal will be a personalized space for you to keep track of how core concepts and topics of the class relate directly to your own lived experiences, identities, and perspectives. It will also serve as an artifact of your learning that will be useful to you when writing major assignments.

Writing Assignments

Assessment Due Date
Paper 0 (positionality) Sept 23, end of the day
Paper 1 First draft (technology analysis) Oct 7, end of the day
Paper 1 Final draft (technology analysis) Oct 21, end of the day
Paper 2 First Draft (application analysis) Nov 4, end of the day
Paper 2 Final Draft (application analysis) Nov 18, end of the day
Paper 3 First Draft (reflection paper) Dec 2, end of the day
Paper 3 Final Draft (reflection paper) Dec 16, end of the day

Use of AI tools

Since written communication is a learning outcome of this course, the content of your individually authored papers and journal entries must be your own writing. AI tools may be used for grammar and clarity editing of your own prose, but not to generate the substance of the writing that forms the basis of the Writing Intensive assessment. All AI assistance must be acknowledged and cited.

AI tools should also not be used to summarize readings. You should train your brain to read and reflect on what you are reading, and make connections. We will be using a social reading tool where you can interact with your classmates, so that hopefully the reading will be more meaningful.