Course Description and Policies

Enrollment: If you are looking to enroll in this course but do not meet EECS department enrollment categories, please make a private post on Ed.

CS 195 is a discussion-intensive course about the social implications of computer technology. The purpose of this course is to help students make informed and thoughtful choices about their careers, participation in society, and future development activities. Readings and lecture topics are drawn from a range of fields that together seek to describe our contemporary global society: sociology, philosophy, economics, public policy, etc.

CS H195 #

CS H195 is a 3-unit class with the following expectations:

• In addition to CS 195 lecture, you’ll go to 60-90 minute in-person discussion sections led by a GSI, once weekly.
• You will actively discuss each CS 195 topic in more depth.
• You will work on interesting projects / papers that replace the usual CS 195 essays.

Weekly Schedule #

Lecture: Tuesday 3:30 to 5:00 PM

Lecture will be hybrid in the Physics Building 1 (Physics 1) with a Zoom simulcast. Participation will be expected for both in-person and Zoom students. We’ll make it work. There will not be after-the-fact recordings posted.

Readings for each week will be released one week before each next class (or thereabouts).

Please finish the readings before class!

Lecture topics will not be determined only by the wisdom of your instructor. Instead, you will collectively choose your own adventure through the material. To guide discussion topics, a weekly survey will be announced on Ed.

Please submit the weekly survey each week by Monday 11:59 pm Pacific!

Lecture and Attendance #

Lecture is going to be a mix of presentations, students asking questions, small group discussion, and class-wide debriefing.

Attendance will be taken in class and is required [either online or in-person]. You cannot have a time conflict. The lecture is the vast majority of the experience of the class.

If interested, please fill out the interest form listed on the Course Catalog. Course applications for H195 are due Wednesday 1/25 11:59pm PT.

Essays #

You will write two short essays (500-1000 words) of varying format in relation to issues discussed in class. Essays are peer reviewed, which means you will review six essays and have each of your essays reviewed by three of your peers.

Ethics in the News #

You will complete an Ethics in the News assignment. Details to be released.

Grading #

The course is graded P/NP. The reason for that policy is to ensure that you can feel free to express opinions that are different from those of the instructors, both in class meetings and in written work.

In order to receive a passing grade in CS 195, you must:

• Attend at least 9 (out of 12) lectures (excludes Lecture 01 and cancelled Lecture 10).
• Complete at least 10 (out of 14) pre-lecture surveys.
• Submit 2 essays and receive a passing peer review grade on all of them.
• Submit a Computing in the News essay and receive a passing peer review grade.
• Provide 3 peer reviews for each essay.

Accommodations #

We understand that situations come up during the semester.

Lecture attendance: Please use your built-in absences first before contacting staff about additional makeups. You may make up lecture attendance by attending the H195 discussion section (discussion meeting times in sidebar). Note that sections often require prework, so please do make a private post on Ed in advance so we can provide you with details.

Pre-lecture surveys: Please use your built-in survey drops first before contacting staff about additional makeups. These will be reopened for completion as needed. Please make a private post on Ed.

Essays: As of now there are no plans to offer makeup essays. While we do not want this 1-unit seminar to stress you out, please also understand that because of our grading timelines, essays must be submitted by the posted deadline. If you have extenuating circumstances or anticipate an overlap with your commitments (personal emergencies, exams, etc.), please make a private Ed post as soon as possible so we can provide a short extension or another accommodation. We will review each extension request on an individual basis.

DSP: If you have a DSP-approved accommodation, please create a private post on the Ed forum so we can allocate extensions based on your letter on record.

Academic Integrity #

(Updated 2/22, valid for Essay 2) The student community at UC Berkeley has adopted the following Honor Code: “As a member of the UC Berkeley community, I act with honesty, integrity, and respect for others.” The expectation is that you will adhere to this code.

Plagiarism/Self-plagiarism: You must be original in composing the writing assignments in this class. To copy text or ideas from another source (including your own previously, or concurrently, submitted course work) without appropriate reference is plagiarism and will result in a failing grade for your assignment and usually further disciplinary action. Anyone found to have submitted assignments completed by another person (student or non-student) will likewise receive a failing grade in the course and be reported to the Center for Student Conduct. For additional information on plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and how to avoid it, see this GSI Guide for Preventing Plagiarism.

Turnitin: As a tool to promote academic integrity in this course, Turnitin will be used to check essays for originality. Turnitin takes assignments submitted through bCourses and compares them to a database of books, journal articles, websites, and other student papers. This creates an opportunity for you to improve your academic writing skills by ensuring that your sources have been properly cited and attributed. Turnitin can also help you gauge how much of your essay represents your own thinking and language. Please note that a low “Similarity Index” score does not necessarily indicate that the essay in question is without academic integrity issues. For more information on Turnitin see: UC Berkeley Turnitin Page, Students Getting Started