SOCSC 151: Society and Technology

DETAILS Semester-hour credits: 3 Tuition: $448.50 Methods: DESCRIPTION This course is required for Social Science majors.  It is designed to increase the student's awareness of technological advances; to develop the student's appreciation of technology's benefits and costs; and to provide the student with critical thinking about the inter-relationship between politics, social dynamics, our economy and the advancement of technology.  There are three written assignments.  The written assignments involve webbing or mapping out a specific technological invention; a biography of an inventor, the itemization of which technological devices are used in a typical home; and designing a timeline of technological advances of a specific area.  REQUIRED MATERIALS & TEXTBOOKS Volti, Rudi. Society and Technological Change. (St. Martin's Press: New York), Fifth Edition 2006.   COURSE REQUIREMENTS The student will be given three papers to complete varying in length from 1 - 10 pages in length and a proctored open book exam (one-hour time limit). The papers involve listing more than 150 technological devices in the typical middle class or upper/middle class home; charting the development of a specific technology that the student chooses, a dissertation regarding the influence that historical developments of technology plays on current technological diffusion, and evidence of critical thinking with regards to the diffusion of various technologies. Each paper counts 50 points and the exam counts 100 points for a total of 250 points. DISCLAIMER: Tuition, credits, medium, description, instructors, books, materials, homework assignments, grading scale, and availability are subject to change without notice. For the most up-to-date status, please contact the Continuing Education staff.