Professor : Dr. Ted Pedersen

• Office Hours : Mon 3:00 - 3:50 pm (on Google Meet),Tues 2:30 - 3:20 pm (HH 309), Thur 2:30 - 3:20 pm (HH 309) 

• Office Hour Google Meet link : https://meet.google.com/atm-ghsh-jup

• email : tpederse@d.umn.edu (however, please use the Canvas discussion for general course related questions)

There is no TA for this class.

Course Description (from catalog): 

Ethical issues posed by computer use, including those related to networking, intellectual property, privacy, crime and security, risk and reliability, and effects on work and wealth. Includes significant writing and a class presentation. 

Course Outcomes : 

Course outcomes are listed (C1 - C4) and mapped to their corresponding UMD campus student learning outcomes (UMD SLOs), Humanities Liberal Education student learning outcomes (HUM-SLOs) and ABET student outcomes (ABET SOs).

A student who successfully completes CS 3111 will :

• C1. Learn the basic foundations of ethical reasoning. 

  • UMD-SLO 1: Demonstrate competence in a major field. (Goal 1: Knowledge)

• C2. Analyze ethical issues in computing and technology from a variety of perspectives.

  • UMD-SLO 2: Construct, integrate, and apply knowledge from instruction and experience. / Goal 1: Knowledge 

  • HUM-SLO 2: Students will analyze products/processes of human thought and culture.

• C3. Understand what it means to act ethically in diverse real-world situations.

  • UMD-SLO 4:   Use ethical reasoning to make informed and principled choices. (Goals 3 and 5: Self-realization and social responsibility) 

  • HUM-SLO 1: Students will apply humanistic methods of inquiry and interpretation to the product/processes of human thought and culture.

  • ABET-SO 4 : Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practive based on legal and ethical principles.

• C4. Write and speak critically and persuasively on ethical dilemmas in computing and technology.

  • UMD-SLO 6: Communicate effectively through writing, speaking, and interpersonal group interactions. (Goal 4: Relationships)

  • HUM-SLO 3: Students will explain how the products/processes of human thought and culture relate to cultural, social, or historical contexts. 

  • ABET-SO 3: Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts. 

Class Schedule

The Class Schedule is where you can find our schedule for assignments and class meetings. Please check this page frequently as it is updated throughout the semester 

Required Textbooks

There are three required textbooks. We will read and discuss all of these books, so it is important to have a copy of each. The good news is that these are popular books widely available in paperback, and the price of each is less than $20, sometimes quite a bit less depending on where you shop. Note that UMD Bookstore has all three books available at reasonable prices. These books are also available via Course Works if you have chosen to be a part of that program. You can see the front covers of our textbooks at the bottom of this page.

1) Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?  

(read during weeks 1 - 4, approx)

by Micheal Sandel

ISBN-13   : 978-0374532505

Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010

2) Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy 

(read during weeks 5 - 11, approx)

by Cathy O'Neill

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0553418835

Publisher : Crown, 2017 

3) Brotopia : Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley 

(read during weeks 12 - 15, approx)

by Emily Chang

ISBN-13  : 978-0525540175

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Portfolio; 2019

Please make sure you bring your copy of whatever book we are reading to class as we are likely to refer to it during our discussions.

Prerequisites

You must have completed an advanced writing class (WRIT 31XX or Engr 4001) with a grade of C- or better, and also earned a minimum of 60 credit hours.  

Grading Basis

• Participation : 20%

• Personal Essays : 20%

• Podcast : 20%

• Midterm Exam 1 (based on Week 1 - 5, roughly) : 10%

• Midterm Exam 2 (based on Week 6- 10, roughly) : 10%

• Final Exam (based on Week 1 - 15) : 20%

Participation

Your participation in class is important for your learning and that of your classmates. Participation is measured via engaged attendance, where you are not just present but also willing and able to engage with the class in a constructive fashion. Please make sure you understand and follow our Participation Norms for Small Group and Class Discussions. 

You are allowed 3 unexcused absences. After that each additional unexcused absence results in a 1/2 point deduction in your participation grade for the semester (of a possible 10). For example, after 4 unexcused absences your participation grade for the semester would be 9.5, after 5 it would be 9, and so on. Excused absences do not count against this limit, and are defined by the UMD policy on excused absences. You will be marked late if you arrive noticably late or depart early. Two lates will be considered one absence. 

Personal Essays

You will write five Personal Essays connected to our readings or class discussions during the semester. 

Midterm and Final Exams

We will have two Midterm exams, one around Week 6 and the other around Week 11. We will also have a Final exam during finals week. Unless otherwise announced these will be take home exams where your responses will take the form of Personal Essays.

Podcast 

You will create a podcast this semester. See Podcast Guidelines for more details.

No Use of Automated Writing / AI Tools

You may not use automated writing / AI tools like Gemini, CoPilot, ChatGPT, Grammarly, Claude, DeepSeek, etc. at any point in developing any work you will submit for a grade in this class. The only exception is that you may use the default spelling and grammar checkers found in Google Docs. 

The purpose of this policy is to encourage authentic engagement with our course materials in a way that improves our critical thinking skills and our ability to  organize and present information we have learned in an engaging and personal way. 

Late Work

Personal Essays, any take home exams, and your podcast may be submitted late. However, there is an automatic lateness penalty of 10% for every full day that passes after the deadline. Since a full day must pass before the lateness penalty is triggered that means there is a 24 hour grace period after each deadline where you can still submit without penalty. No further submissions are possible for any work 10 days after the deadline. 

Grading Scale

• 93 - 100 = A, 90 - 92 = A-

• 87 - 89 = B+, 83 - 86 = B, 80 - 82 = B -

• 77 - 79 = C+, 73 - 76 = C, 70 - 72 = C -

• 67 - 69 = D+, 60 - 66 = D

• 0 - 59 = F

UMD-wide syllabus policies

For anything not mentioned above, this class will follow the policies described in the UMD-wide syllabus.

Front Covers of our Textbooks