GNED 1300
First-Year Seminar
The Electronic Frontier
Spring, 1999
This course will examine the impact of computers and computer networks
on our conception of ourselves and on our beliefs about what is important.
Among the issues to be considered are the following. Communication:
the
relation between face-to-face and electronic communication. The formation
of "virtual communities" and their relation to real communities. What are
the advantages and disadvantages of "virtual" relationships? Access
to information: many kinds of information that were formerly difficult
to find are now instantly available over the internet. This makes it increasingly
important to have strategies for locating information, and strategies for
evaluating the materials we locate. We will also consider whether the ease
of access to the internet is leading us to undervalue kinds of information
that are less amenable to electronic access. The nature of the mind:
cognitive
science is motivated in part by the idea that the mind is the software
of the brain. We will examine and evaluate computer models of the mind.
Do they overstress certain aspects of the human mind and understress others?
Artificial intelligence: can machines think? are people really machines
that think? Information ethics: A commonly heard slogan on the internet
is: "Information wants to be free." We will consider whether any restrictions
ought to be placed on access to information, and the related issue of how
and to what extent privacy of personal information should be protected.
Censorship and freedom of expression:
what kinds of material should
be available on the internet, and who should be able to access it?
Books:
Sherry Turkle, Life on the Screen
Peter Ludlow, ed., High Noon on the Electronic Frontier: Conceptual
Issues in Cyberspace
Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash
Office Hours:
M 2:30 - 4:30
W 3:30 - 4:30
TR 10:00 - 11:30
or by appointment.
I am usually in my office during office hours, but occasionally a meeting
or another commitment prevents this. If you just drop by during office
hours, you will probably find me in; if you want to see me at another time,
or if you want to be certain I'll be in, we can set up an appointment.
Grades will be based on the following work:
Listserv participation: 20%. We will have a listserv
mailing list for the class. Sending an email message to the listserv
will automatically send copies to everyone in the class. This is
potentially useful in a variety of ways -- to continue discussions begun
in class; to suggest topics for class discussion; to call the group's attention
to interesting news articles or web sites; to try out ideas and solicit
comments on them. I will keep all the contributions of everyone in
the class, and at the end of the semester will assign a grade based on
your level of participation. Quality of contributions will be as
important as quantity, but everyone will be expected to read new contributions
as they arrive and to contribute at least weekly.
Short papers: 40%. In addition to participation in
the listserv discussion, each student will write three short (3-5 page)
papers. These should argue for a clearly stated position.
In-class participation, including presentations: 20%.
Class members will give regular brief presentations on the reading material;
the grade for in-class participation will be based partly on these presentations
and partly on other contributions to class discussion.
Final project: 20%. I may allow a conventional paper,
but will encourage you to construct a web site instead. You should
decide on a topic early in the semester and work toward the final project
in stages.
Attendance and participation: Attendance is required.
This is reflected in the grade for in-class participation, but excessive
absence is grounds for failure in the course, not merely on the participation
portion of the grade.
Note on Academic Integrity: You should be sure that you
are familiar with the academic integrity policy stated on pages 1-2 of
the Student Handbook. Note that violations of academic integrity
include cheating, counterfeit work (i.e. turning in work that was done
by someone else), unauthorized reuse of your own work ("turning in the
same work to more than one class without consent of the instructors involved"),
and plagiarism. The Student Handbook description of plagiarism is
important enough to quote at length: "presenting as one's work the
work of someone else without properly acknowledging the source. .
. . Exact copying should be enclosed in quotation marks and be appropriately
documented in footnotes or end notes that indicate the source of the quotation.
Paraphrasing, when the basic sentence structure, phraseology, and unique
language remain the same, is also plagiarism. When in doubt about
these matters, it is the student's responsibility to seek guidance from
the instructor of the course."
Readings:
See the detailed schedule.