Course description:
This course is designed as an introduction to key ideas about technology using historical and contemporary case studies that give us a different way to think about technology and its relationship to society.
Technology is a human product, not an autonomous force. Technology makes nothing happen by itself, but only as the result of human action. We can, therefore, only make sense of technology by understanding it as an integral part of human history.
The theme of ethics is present throughout the course. We learn how human choices shape technological change in ways that affect the principles of a just society. We read about the responsibility of technical professionals to act in the public interest and minimize harm. We look at how people make ethical judgments when participating in technical decision making.
Academic honesty/integrity statement:
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.
Core IMPACTS statement(s) (if applicable):
This is a Core IMPACTS course that is part of the Social Sciences area.
Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential knowledge in foundational academic areas. This course will help master course content, and support students’ broad academic and career goals.
This course should direct students toward a broad Orienting Question: • How do I understand human experiences and connections?
Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcome:
• Students will effectively analyze the complexity of human behavior, and how historical, economic, political, social, or geographic relationships develop, persist, or change.
Course content, activities and exercises in this course should help students develop the following Career-Ready Competencies:
- Intercultural Competence
- Perspective-Taking
- Persuasion
Ethics Attribute Learning Outcomes
HTS 2084 fulfills the Georgia Tech ethics requirement. In this course, students will acquire:
- An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in real-world contexts.
- An ability to assess actions or decisions based on established ethical principles and theories, or through deliberative processes.
- An ability to consider the implications of actions, both for society as a whole and for individuals.
