HON 120:  Two Codes: A Course on the U.S. Constitution and Computing

 

Honors 120.307

Spring 2020   

M 11:00am-11:50am

 

Instructors:    Dr. Stephen Meinhold and Dr. Curry Guinn

Office:            LH 117 (for Meinhold) CIS 2015 (for Guinn)

Office Hours: By appointment

Phone:            963.3223 (Meinhold)  962-7937 (Guinn)

Email:             meinholds@uncw.edu, guinnc@uncw.edu

 

Course Description

 

In this course, students will analyze and critically evaluate issues surrounding the U.S. Constitution and computer science with law and courts scholar, Dr. Stephen Meinhold, Professor of Political Science, and artificial intelligence researcher, Dr. Curry Guinn, Professor & Chair in the Department of Computer Science.

 

Learning Objectives

 

At the conclusion of the course you should have a better understanding of each of the following:

 

  1. The constitutional framework of American government.
  2. The impact of computer technology on constitutional rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom from unwarranted search
  3. Current and projected impacts of computer technology on social, economic and political institutions in areas such automation, employment, healthcare, artificial intelligence, and privacy.

 

Assignments

 

Link to schedule

 

·       Weekly quizzes on Canvas (25%)

·       Attendance (25%) – Policy described below

·       Reflective Essay #1 (15%)

·       Reflective Essay #2 (15%)

·       Reflective Essay #3 (20%)

 

Grading

 

A 10-point scale will be used to compute your course grade. Pluses and minuses will be assigned solely at the discretion of the instructors.  Factors that may affect this judgment are the distribution of grades, improvement during the semester, and class participation. 
 

90 - 100 A-, A

80 - 89.5 B-, B, B+

70 - 79.5 C-, C, C+

60 - 69.5 D-, D, D+

 

Ignore any grade calculations or totals in the Canvas gradebook. 

 

 

COURSE SCHEDULE AND READINGS (Subject to revision)

 

Link to schedule

 

Attendance

 

As a one-day-a-week course, attendance is mandatory.   The attendance grade will be calculated as follows:

Missing 0 or 1 class sessions              100

Missing 2 class sessions                     90

Missing 3 class sessions                     80

Missing 4 class sessions                     50

Missing 5 class sessions                     0

Missing 6 or more class sessions        F for the course

 

 

Class Policies

 

All members of UNCW’s community are expected to follow the academic Honor Code.  Please read the UNCW Honor Code carefully (as covered in the UNCW Student Handbook and available here: http://www.uncw.edu/odos/honorcode/).  Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated in this class.

 

Please be especially familiar with UNCW’s position on plagiarism as outlined in the UNCW

Student Handbook.  Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty in which you take someone else’s ideas and represent them as your own.  Here are some examples of plagiarism:

1. You write about someone else’s work in your paper and do not give them credit for it by referencing them.

2. You give a presentation and use someone else’s ideas and do not state that the ideas are the other person’s.

3. You get facts from your textbook or some other reference material and do not reference that material.

 

 

Students with diagnosed disabilities should contact the Office of Disability Services (962-7555). Please give me a copy of the letter you receive from Office of Disability Services detailing class accommodations you may need. If you require accommodation for test-taking, please make sure I have the referral letter no less than three days before the test.

 

UNCW practices a zero tolerance policy for any kind of violent or harassing behavior. If you are experiencing an emergency of this type contact the police at 911 or UNCW CARE at 962-2273. Resources for individuals concerned with a violent or harassing situation can be located at http://www.uncw.edu/wsrc/crisis.html.