CS 105: Computer Ethics and Society

This is a 10-week course and the final exam will be in class on the 11th week.

Office Hours available by appointment

We strongly encourage you to contact the instructor and TAs if you are experiencing difficulty with the course. We are here to help you learn.

For all e-mail communications, include the course and section number in your e-mail subject line to avoid being flagged as trash. For example

Subject: CS 105 Section 004 Question about Kantianism

• Textbook: Quinn, Michael J., "Ethics for the Information Age" 6th Ed., Addison-Wesley, 2013. The textbook is required and students are expected to keep up with readings
• Web: Blackboard at http://mymasonportal.gmu.edu. Look for CS 105 and you section number which may be combined with other sections under you professor. All additional materials (readings, slides, announcements) will be available through the web site.

Legal, social, and ethical issues surrounding use of computers and the internet. The course will stress ethical decision-making as well as legal and social responsibility in connection with technology-related concerns. Issues such as security, crime, privacy and intellectual property will be examined in the context of computer use. Students may be requested to conduct research on the internet in any of these areas and/or learn to use practical technological tools related to privacy and security.

1. Students will understand many of the key ethical, legal and social issues related to information technology and how to interpret and comply with ethical principles, laws, regulations and institutional policies.
2. Students will understand the essential issues related to information security, how to take precautions and use techniques and tools to defend against computer crimes.

This course has been approved to satisfy the GMU General Education requirement for one credit of IT Ethics.

This is primarily a discussion-based course. You are expected to attend all course meetings and participate in conversations about course material as well as in-class activities relevant to the course. To facilitate this, assigned readings are to be done before class.

There are two major writing assignments to be done outside of class which comprise a substantial portion of the overall grade. Additional work such as outside research or contributing to discussion board topics may be assigned.

This class relies strongly on class participation. Therefore, it is important that you attend class on a regular basis. While you are welcome to attend an alternate lecture session if you miss your own, please note that you may not assume instructors in different sections will present the same materials. Similarly, unless you obtain advance approval from your instructor, you may not receive credit for class participation or other in-class activities when attending a section other than your own.

Grading will be based on two major assignments, three in-class quizzes, overall in-class participation, and the final exam. These are weighted based on the following weights.

Final grades will be determined according to following approximate ranges without rounding.

The approximate schedule of topics and due dates is listed here. Check the web schedule for the most up-to-date version. Readings from "Quinn" refer to the required course text and give the section numbers to read. Sections marked "Skim" can be briefly scanned. Sections marked "Interview" refer to end of chapter interviews to read.