Description:

This is the second section of the STS 4500/4600 sequence.  There are two basic parts to the course.  The first is to expand upon and complete your STS Research Paper.  The Technical Report will be completed and certified under guidance of your technical advisor.  The final Portfolio will include the 4500 Prospectus (with signatures on title page), the STS Research Paper, the Technical Report, and a short Sociotechnical Synthesis.  Second, we will be engaging in discussions of ethical principles, scenarios, and cases relevant to everyday life and within professional situations.

Goals:

1. Learning techniques to navigate and understand complex sociotechnical landscapes as soon to be professional practitioners that will have considerable influence and responsibilities.  This includes being able to ask critical questions about existing case studies and critically assessing their own role within multiple real and potential scenarios.
2. Evaluate existing professional codes and guidelines for appropriate behavior.  We will look at the origins of the different engineering society codes, how to apply the codes, and what limitations there are in the existing guidelines.  You should be able to translate our discussions and readings into persuasive arguments.
3. Translate between the themes covered in 4500 (stakeholder negotiations, norms and values in design, momentum of social/economic/technical complexes, institutionalized ways of thinking, among others) and how these themes overlap with your professional lives.