EG 44175 is the an elective course provided by the Computer Science and Engineering program at the University of Notre Dame. The purpose of this course is to develop a solid foundation for reasoning about ethical, professional, and social issues that arise in the engineering professions. Emphasis is placed on applying sound critical-thinking skills to a problem and identifying appropriate legal, professional and moral contexts. Topics covered include engineering disasters, safety-critical systems, professional codes of ethics, whistle-blowing, privacy and surveillance and intellectual property. This course relies heavily on real-world case studies.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Communicate effectively about a wide range of ethical, professional, and social issues regarding engineering in a variety of mediums and platforms.

  2. Analyze complex moral and technical issues by identifying stakeholders, exploring opposing positions, and considering short and long-term consequences.

  3. Discuss the impact of engineering and technology in the past, the issues and obstacles facing society in the present, and the opportunities for the future.

  4. Evaluate different ethical, professional, and social issues in the context of computer science and engineering and in terms of Catholic social teaching.

Class Information

Lecture
M-F 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Location
Rome Global Gateway
Mailing List
su18-eg-44175-02-group@nd.edu
Slack
#eg-44175-su18
GitLab
nd-eg-44175-su18

Instructor

Instructor
Peter Bui (pbui@nd.edu)
Mobile
TBA

Help Protocol

  1. Think
  2. Slack
  3. Think
  4. Email
Unit Date Topics Assignment
Week 1
Responsibility 05/23 Syllabus, Talents, Ethics Slides Reading 00
05/24 Professional Engineer, Code of Ethics, Contracts Slides Reading 01
05/25 Diversity, Codes of Conduct Slides Reading 02
Week 2
Disasters 05/28 Disasters I Slides Reading 03
05/29 Disasters II Slides Reading 04
05/30 No Class
05/31 Whistleblowing I Slides Reading 05
06/01 Whistleblowing II Slides Reading 06
Week 3
Regulation 06/04 Corporate Conscience Slides Reading 07
06/05 Antitrust Slides Reading 08
06/06 Disruptive Technology Slides Reading 09
06/07 Environment Slides Reading 10
06/08 No Class Project 01
Week 4
Intellectual Property 06/11 No Class
06/12 Patents Slides Reading 11
06/13 No Class
06/14 Copyrights Slides Reading 12
06/15 No Class
Week 5
Political Issues 06/18 No Class
06/19 Privacy Slides Reading 13
06/20 Freedom of Speech Slides Reading 14
06/21 No Class
06/22 Immigration, Automation Slides Reading 15
Week 6
Public Interest 06/25 Project 02 Presentations Project 02
06/26 Project 02 Presentations
06/27 Project 02 Presentations
06/28 Final Exam

Deadlines

All Readings and Projects are due at 8:00 AM on the day they are assigned in the schedule above (unless specified otherwise).

Coursework

Component Points
Readings Daily reading quizzes. 15 × 3
Projects Tri-weekly group projects. 2 × 30
Participation Regular class attendation and contribution to course community. 15
Final Final exam. 30
Total 150

Grading

Grade Points Grade Points Grade Points
A 140-150 A- 135-139
B+ 130-134 B 125-130 B- 120-124
C+ 115-119 C 110-114 C- 105-109
D 100-104 F 0-99

Policies

Participation

Students are expected to attend and contribute regularly in class. This means answering questions in class, participating in discussions, and helping other students.

Foreseeable absences should be discussed with the instructor ahead of time.

Late Work

In the case of a serious illness or other excused absence, as defined by university policies, coursework submissions will be accepted late by the same number of days as the excused absence.

Otherwise, a late penalty, as determined by the instructor, will be assessed to any late submission of an assignment. In general, the late penality is 25% off for less than a week and 50% off for more than a week. The instructor reserves the right to refuse any unexcused late work.

Honor Code

All work that you submit must be your own. Collaboration is encouraged but must be disclosed by all parties. Print or online resources are allowed, but must be disclosed. However, you may not look at solutions from other current or past students, or any other source.

Students with Disabilities

Any student who has a documented disability and is registered with Disability Services should speak with the professor as soon as possible regarding accommodations. Students who are not registered should contact the Office of Disabilities.

CSE Guide to the Honor Code

For the assignments in this class, you may discuss with other students and consult printed and online resources. You may quote from books and online sources as long as you cite them properly. However, you may not look at another student's solution, and you may not look at solutions.

For further guidance please refer to the CSE Honor Code or ask the instructor.