Instructor: Sabrina Weiss
Thursdays, 12pm, 12 weeks, starting February 13
Students may register for individual parts or the entire class.
Course Description
These mini-courses offer a quick overview of three current topics connected to science, technology, and values that are relevant to us today.
Part 1: Should Cars Drive Themselves? - Starts February 13
Should we give control of our cars to computers? What are the pros and cons of this?
With the status quo showing that humans are bad at driving cars because we easily get distracted and don’t make rational judgements under pressure, are we fooling ourselves into thinking that humans are safer than we actually are?
This course will be a short, intensive exploration of self-driving cars and the issues surrounding them today. We will practice critical thinking, question framing, and analysis based on research. Students will be expected to do independent research to prepare for class discussions.
Texts:
“All Hail the Driverless Car!” - IQ2 US Debate
Outline:
Introduction to topic
Watch and discuss “All Hail the Driverless Car!” (2 weeks)
Background research: status quo driving statistics
Background research: history of self-driving cars and algorithms
Analysis and Discussion: putting these together
Part 2: Who Killed the Climate?: Investigation and Inquiry - Starts March 12
This topic-specific course will do a deep dive on the topic of climate change. We will frame this like a murder mystery “whodunnit”: starting with current projections about climate change and the disasters that we see, we will work backwards using living history methods to reconstruct the series of events and decisions that led us to where we are now. This will be an immersive and engaging method for learning the history and politics of climate science, climate policy, and environmental regulations.
Students will be expected to prepare for each class meeting by independently investigating a focus question using resources freely available, like internet archives and searches, as well as library resources. This will be a discussion heavy course, and students will be expected to contribute through voice or text communications during class in an interactive way with the instructor and classmates.
Students will choose a subtopic related to the course topic to focus on to prepare a 3 minute briefing for the final class meeting.
Part 3: We are All Digital Citizens - Starts April 9
This course is an introduction to the concept of digital citizenship, an awareness that when we interact with people in online and other digital spaces our conduct matters. While there are risks that we should be aware of, there are choices we can make to be safer and to make a positive climate for everyone. We will look at different types of digital spaces like games, social media, and discussion forums and will discuss risks and responsibilities for each.
Topics:
What is Digital Citizenship, and how are we all citizens of the online space?
Citizenship in games: playing well with others
Conflict in Social Media: how to discuss issues respectfully
Managing privacy
