University of Toronto at Scarborough

Computer Science D03H
Social Impact of Information Technology
Fall 2009

Instructor: Graeme Hirst.

Links for assignments

The UTSC Writing Centre: Helpful hints for presentations and term papers

Course information

CSC D03 is a participatory course. The class meets once a week for discussions, talks, reports, and videos.

The course studies and discusses the benefits and risks to society of computer systems, the trade-offs between the two, and the issues that arise in ethics and public policy. Topics covered include the following:

The course is intended to give senior undergraduates in computer science programs some perspective on their studies: insight into the social consequences of the field, and the ethical dilemmas that computer professionals must face. Because of its social relevance, it should also be of interest to many students in other programs. CSC D03 is also intended to help students practice their skills in researching an issue, in critical thinking about complex issues, and in writing and presentation.

CSC D03 is intended primarily for students in specialist programs in Computer Science, but is open (subject to the enrollment limit) to any senior student (at least fourteen full-course equivalents) who has taken CSC A06, A57, or A58, or an equivalent course. While CSC D03 is intended for more-mature students than CSC 300, and is somewhat different in both content and style, there is sufficient overlap between the two courses that students may not receive credit for both of them.

Because of the style of the course, enrollment in CSC D03 is limited to 25 people per section. Demand for the course often exceeds this. If you need this course for graduation, you should register asap, because when it's full it's full. But please don't register for the course unless you are sure you want to take it; otherwise, you are just hogging the place of someone who really needs it.

For further information, contact Graeme Hirst at HisFirstName.HisLastName@utoronto.ca with the string "D03" in the subject line.


Last modified, 31 August 2009. Comments, complaints, compliments, and reports of broken links to Graeme Hirst at the address above.