661 ETHICS AND THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
School of Information Studies
L&I SCI 661: Ethics and the Information Society
Spring 2010
3 Credits
SYLLABUS
1/25/10
Instructor: Elizabeth A. Buchanan, Ph.D. Location: Bolton 654
E-mail: Phone: 414-229-3973
Office Hours: By Appointment
Research Assistant: Tony Hoffmann,
Meeting Times: Monday, 9:30 to 12:10
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course introduces students to ethical traditions and the concept of ethics in the global information society. Specific topics will include technical and philosophical definitions of the information society; democratic principles in light of globalization and information transfer; professional ethical and conduct codes from information-related organizations; moral responsibilities and social concerns associated with information and communication technologies; and analysis of information ethics issues.
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of the course, students will:
1. Be familiar with the philosophical history of ethics and how this history relates to present day discussions of ethics;
2. Be conversant with seminal writings in information ethics;
3. Be able to articulate and evaluate the ethical dilemmas presented by new forms of information technologies;
4. Understand various applications and types of professional ethics;
5. Recognize the importance of professional ethics.
METHOD:
Lecture/Discussion
Students with special needs should contact the instructor as early as possible for accommodations and work with the Student Accessibility Center for accommodations.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
1. Herman T. Tavani. (2009). Ethics and Technology (3rd Edition). Boston: Wiley and Sons.
2. Elizabeth A. Buchanan and Kathrine Henderson. (2009). Cases in Library and Information Science Ethics. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishers.
3. Others as assigned online, available on the course web site, on the web, or through a subscription database.
Evaluation and Grading:
You can reach a total of 100 points in this class.
100-90 points = A
89-80 = B
79-70 = C
69-60 = D
*Below 60 is failing
Participation: 20 points (Details of “participation” described in our first session; **Attendance and participation are expected for this course. The topics we will cover in the course demand close reading. You must devote considerable time reviewing the assignments so that you can participate appropriately in class).
Each week, questions related to the readings will form the basis of our discussions. You do not have to answer each one directly, but they are intended to serve as jumping off points. This is NOT a lecture-based class. It is, instead, a class that is based on our collective discussions. Ethics is very subjective, and we may not always agree. A mutual level of respect towards each other is EXPECTED and REQUIRED. Participation will take place through discussions, and engagement in case studies. Be prepared for each class to avoid losing points on participation!
Group presentation: 20 points. Students will be assigned to a small group for discussion of a particular topics and related case studies. Group members will present to the class on designated days.
Codes of ethics paper: 25 points (**A 4-5 page analysis of an organizational codes of ethics document. You may select the organizational code you wish to review. Details provided in class.)
Final paper: 35 points (**Final course paper: 8-12 pages, with references to primary texts, as expected in scholarly writing; suggestions for topics will be discussed throughout the course.
Schedule:
Week 1: January 25:
Introduction to the Course and Course Procedures
Ethics Survey
Week 2: February 1
Philosophy and Ethics: The Foundations
Read:
Tavani, chapter 1
Buchanan and Henderson, chapter 1
The Wikipedia entry on Philosophy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy
The Wikipedia on Ethics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
The Wikipedia on Ethical Dilemma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_dilemma
Prior to class, take the online survey on your moral orientation and your stance on ethical relativism; be prepared to discuss in class:
http://ethics.sandiego.edu/ActiveWebSurvey/General/MoralOrientations.asp
http://ethics.sandiego.edu/ActiveWebSurvey/Theory/Survey001_Relativism.asp
Week 3: February 8
Ethical Theories and Tools
Read:
Tavani, 2-3
“Moral Reasoning,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, First published Mon Sep 15, 2003; substantive revision Sat Aug 4, 2007. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reasoning-moral/
Week 4: February 15
Information Ethics
Read:
International Center for Information Ethics Web Site, what is the field of information ethics: http://icie.zkm.de/research
Thomas Froehlich, “A brief history of information ethics,” http://www.ub.es/bid/13froel2.htm
Elizabeth Buchanan, “An Overview of Information Ethics in a World-Wide Context,” Ethics and Information Technology, vol. 1, 1999, 193-201.
Week 5: February 22
Information Rights, Responsibilities, and Principles
Read:
Terry Curtis and Jorge Reina Schement (1995). “Communication Rights,” in Toward an Information Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute
Jorge Reina Schement, (1995). “Introduction: Rights, Responsibilities, and the Nature of Information,” in Toward an Information Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute.
Johannes Britz (May 2008). “Making the Global Information Society Good: A Social Justice Perspective on the Ethical Dimensions of the Global Information Society,” Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology (JASIST), Vol. 59, Issue 7: 1171-1183.
Week 6: March 1
Professional Ethics and Codes of Ethics
Read:
Tavani, chapter 4
Buchanan and Henderson, chapter 5
Review the Codes of Ethics Introduction and Using a Code of Ethics: http://ethics.iit.edu/index1.php/Programs/Codes%20of%20Ethics/Introduction
http://ethics.iit.edu/index1.php/Programs/Codes%20of%20Ethics/Using%20a%20Code%20of%20Ethics
Assignment: Write a paper of no more than 5 pages about Codes of Ethics. Review at least 2 codes of ethics of professional information organizations. Compare and contrast them with codes of other professional organizations.
Week 7: March 8
Information Equity
Read:
Tavani, chapter 10
Jorge Reina Schement (2001), “Imagining Fairness: Equality and Equity of Access in Search of Democracy,” http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/contactwo/oitp/infocommons0204/schement.cfm
Luciano Floridi, “Informational Ethics: An Environmental Approach to the Digital Divide,” Philosophy in the Contemporary World, Vol. 9, #1, Spring-Summer 2001.
In class viewing: Jorge Schement’s lecture on information in the 21st century
Week 8: March 15
Regulating the Net: Free Speech and Content Controls
Read:
Tavani, chapter 9
Buchanan and Henderson, chapter 2
CODE OF ETHICS PAPER DUE MARCH 15.
Week 9: March 22 SPRING BREAK
Week 10: March 29 Privacy and Surveillance Societies
Read:
Tavani, ch. 5 and 11
Buchanan and Henderson, chapter 3
Viewing: Eagle Eye
Week 11: April 5
Patriot Act and Related Measures
Buchanan and Henderson,
ALA on the Patriot Act
Nancy Kranich, The Impact of the USA PATRIOT Act on Free Expression,” (New York: Free Expression Policy Project, May 2003), http://www.fepproject.org/commentaries/patriotact.html; “Update,” (August 27, 2003), http://www.fepproject.org/commentaries/patriotactupdate.html
Before coming to class, explore other state library associations and find examples of resolutions against the PA provisions.
Week 11: April 12
Intellectual Property
Read:
Tavani, ch. 8
Buchanan and Henderson, ch. 4
Kenneth Einar Himma (May 2008). “The Justification of Intellectual Property: Contemporary Philosophical Disputes,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. Volume 59, Issue 7: 1143-1161.
Week 12: April 19
The Information Commons
Read:
Buchanan, E. and Campbell, J. (2004). New Threats to Intellectual Freedom: The Loss of the Information Commons through Law and Technology in the United States. In Intellectual Property Rights in a Networked World: Theory and Practice. Edited by R. Spinello and H. Tavani. Idea Group.
Kranich, Nancy. (June 2004). The Information Commons: A Public Policy Report. New York: Free Expression Policy Project. www.fepproject.org/policyreports/InformationCommons.pdf; www.fepproject.org/policyreports/infocommons.contentsexsum.html.
Week 13: April 26
Online Communities, Social Networking, Mashup Culture and More!
Read:
boyd, d, (2007). Social Network Sites: Public, Private, What? http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2007/edition-13/social-network-sites-public-private-or-what/
Raynes-Goldie, K. (2009). Alias, Creeping, and Wall Cleaning
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2775/2432
Marwick, A. (2008). To Catch A Predator: The MySpace Moral Panic http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2152/1966. First Monday 13 (6)
boyd, d. “Friends, Friendsters, and Top 8: Writing Community into Being on Social Network Sites, First Monday, vol. 11, # 12 (December 2006),
URL: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_12/boyd/index.
Viewing:
Copyright Criminals
Week 15: May 3
Presentations/Conclusion/Wrap-up
Final Papers due May 7
Notes on professional ethics and responsibility:
1. Submitting a paper or a large part of a paper from any other course assignment as part of this course requirements is not permitted. It is considered an act of academic misconduct. Any student attempting to do so will fail the assignment and be reported to the sois associate dean for academic misconduct.
2. Verbal harassment, intimidation, or “attacks” will not be tolerated. Class participants are expected to maintain a level of civility, respect, and tolerance for others. While I encourage and support intellectual freedom, this does not include such forms of speech as harassment, etc.
3. Papers are to be submitted on or before the due date. It is unfair to others to change the rules. If there is an emergency, of course there will be special accommodations made.
UWM- School of Information Studies
UWM and SOIS Academic Policies
The following links contain university policies affecting all SOIS students. Many of the links below may be accessed through a PDF-document maintained by the Secretary of the University: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf. Undergraduates may also find the Panther Planner and Undergraduate Student Handbook useful (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/OSL/DOS/Handbook2005-06.pdf). For graduate students, there are additional guidelines from the Graduate School (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Grad_Sch/StudentInfo/), including those found in the Graduate Student and Faculty Handbook: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Grad_Sch/Publications/Handbook/.
Students with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of a course, please contact the instructor as soon as possible. Students with disabilities are responsible to communicate directly with the instructor to ensure special accommodation in a timely manner. There is comprehensive coverage of issues related to disabilities at the Student Accessibility Center (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/DSAD/SAC/MainOffice.html ), important components of which are expressed here: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/DSAD/SAC/SACltr.pdf.
Religious observances. Students’ sincerely held religious beliefs must be reasonably accommodated with respect to all examinations and other academic requirements, according to the following policy: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad%2Badmin_policies/S1.5.htm. Please notify your instructor within the first three weeks of the Fall or Spring Term (first week of shorter-term or Summer courses) of any specific days or dates on which you request relief from an examination or academic requirement for religious observances.
Students called to active military duty. UWM has several policies that accommodate students who must temporarily lay aside their educational pursuits when called to active duty in the military (see http://www3.uwm.edu/des/web/registration/militarycallup.cfm), including provisions for refunds, readmission, grading, and other situations.
Incompletes. A notation of “incomplete” may be given in lieu of a final grade to a student who has carried a subject successfully until the end of a semester but who, because of illness or other unusual and substantial cause beyond the student’s control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or some limited amount of other term work. An incomplete is not given unless the student proves to the instructor that s/he was prevented from completing course requirements for just cause as indicated above (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad%2Badmin_policies/S31.pdf).
Discriminatory conduct (such as sexual harassment). UWM and SOIS are committed to building and maintaining a campus environment that recognizes the inherent worth and dignity of every person, fosters tolerance, sensitivity, understanding, and mutual respect, and encourages the members of its community to strive to reach their full potential. The UWM policy statement (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad%2Badmin_policies/S47.pdf) summarizes and defines situations that constitute discriminatory conduct. If you have questions, please contact an appropriate SOIS administrator.
Academic misconduct. Cheating on exams and plagiarism are violations of the academic honor code and carry severe sanctions, ranging from a failing grade for a course or assignment to expulsion from the University. See the following document (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/OSL/DOS/conduct.html) or contact the SOIS Investigating Officer (currently the Associate Dean) for more information.
Complaints. Students may direct complaints to the SOIS Dean or Associate Dean. If the complaint allegedly violates a specific university policy, it may be directed to the appropriate university office responsible for enforcing the policy.
Grade appeal procedures. A student may appeal a grade on the grounds that it is based on a capricious or arbitrary decision of the course instructor. Such an appeal shall follow SOIS appeals procedures or, in the case of a graduate student, the Graduate School. These procedures are available in writing from the respective department chairperson or the Academic Dean of the College/School (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad%2Badmin_policies/S28.htm).
Examinations, Finals. The Secretary of the University is authorized to prepare the final examination schedule. The time of the final examination for an individual or a class may be changed only with the prior approval of the dean or director of the respective college/school. The change will involve a postponement to a later date. For individuals with exam conflicts, a separate week at the very end of the exam week will be reserved to take one of the conflicting exams (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad%2Ba