The University of Oklahoma
College of Liberal Studies
1610 Asp Ave Ste 108, Norman, OK 73072
Phone: 405-325-1061/800-522-4389 Fax: 405-325-7132

4750 Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar

Welcome

Printable Syllabus PDF File

Course Description
Today we are overwhelmed by changes in technology and how they are affecting us and forcing us to change. But actually, this has always been the case. As technology has changed, so has science, politics, culture, literature, and many other aspects of the world. In this seminar we hope to uncover the mystery of technological change and its effects on us. By examining the past, can we develop critical thinking skills that can help us see the future? With current technology change are we faced with new moral questions? For example, what are the moral implications of cloning and computer humans who do all the work?

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Weekend one will consist of a history and an overview of how changes in technology have affected the Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities throughout history. We’ll build upon the concept of paradigms as it was discussed in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

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Weekend two will be an exploration of what to expect in the future by analyzing questions like man/machine interface! (I.E. If we can create artificial computer prosthesis for every part of the body at what point are we man or machine?) What is the extent of computer intelligence? Can sentience actually emerge from a computer? Or if we can make a computer “smart” enough to interface with us verbally and answer all of our questions, is that the same as sentience?

We’ll do this through a series of lectures, videos, case studies, group work and writing assignments.

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Student Resources

Student Resources

Required Textbooks

Required Textbooks

Brockman, J. (2002). Next Fifty Years: Science in the First Half of the Twenty-First Century. New York: Vintage. ISBN: 0375713425.

Brody, D. E. and Brody, A. R. (1996). The Science Class You Wish You Had: The Seven Greatest Scientific Discoveries in History and the People Who Made Them. New York: Perigee. ISBN: 0399523138.

Kuhn. T. S. (1996). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 3rd edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 0223458083.

Credits

Credits

Subject Matter Experts
J. Madison Davis, Ph.D.
Robert Dougherty, M.L.S.

Web site Design and Development
Catherine Kerley, 2006