CSU Long Beach
ENGR 350
Computers, Ethics, and Society

Syllabus
Schedule
Grading
Portfolio
Homework:
  Guidelines
  Standards
  1 - Images
  2 - Risks
    -- example
  3 - Infobahn
    -- example
  4 - Dataveillance
    -- example
  5 - Worklife
    -- example
  6 - Killer Robot
Term project

Latest Update: Sat 23 Jan 99

The purpose of this exercise is to get you to look carefully at how computers and computer-related technologies (for example, communications) are portrayed in the media today.

For this assignment, find two images of computer technology. One should be a technological utopian image; the other should be a technological dystopian image (as we defined these terms in class -- think of Kelly and Birkerts). These images may be from magazines, newspapers, books, television, movies, advertisements, or other public media sources.

If possible, make a copy of the image (for example, if it's from a printed source), and bring this to class on the due date. If the image is not from a printed source, write a short summary or description of it, and bring this to class. (for example, you might describe an advertisement that appeared on TV -- tell when you saw it, on what channel, etc.)

For the homework part of this assignment, you just have to find and document the two images, as described above. Turn them in at the start of class, as specified in the homework guidelines.

Also keep a copy for yourself. In class, you will write a short essay about them, which will be graded separately. Details of this will be announced in class. We'll probably also do a bit of "show and tell" about what you've found.