STS 308--Technology & Global Development

TECHNOLOGICAL AND GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

HSS 308 Syllabus                      Professor James M. Lipuma                      Summer 2001

STS 308, “Technology and Global Development” is an upper division course designed for students of junior or senior standing.  The class discusses the specifics of how societies advance themselves and transfer their methodology for solving problems to other societies around the globe.  Themes developed in the course will be intra-societal global development, environmental concerns and global trade, population, land use, air pollution, water pollution, and biodiversity.   The course uses readings from Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumauker and Living in the Environment by G. Tyler Miller.

ASSIGNMENTS

Throughout the semester, there will be homework, papers, and oral reports that each student must complete in order to receive a grade in the class. These assignments include research papers, a midterm covering the first half of the class, a group written and oral assignment, as well as a project that will serve as the final. Other smaller in-class and homework assignments will be used to help explore and illustrate the topics being discussed.

PAPERS

All papers that are submitted for this class are to be college-level research papers. A college-level paper is type-written, has page numbers, contains references to research and includes a reference page at the end for works quoted or otherwise referenced in the document. Citations for the research used needs to be included with the paper and should follow the APA format for citations. This means parenthetical citations within the text with a references page at the end of the document. Only works that are actually quoted from or referenced directly should be cited. This is not a bibliography but rather a "Reference" page. Please remember, simply lifting text from a dictionary or encyclopedia is something found mainly in high school papers. Though it may be necessary to quote from these types of sources, rarely are they the only works used for references.

I want to stress that the work for this class should be formal research papers. There should be no contractions, spelling errors, punctuation errors, or mistakes in grammar. Please be consistent within the paper with abbreviations and other acronyms. Double space the paper. Use a clear easy-to-read font that is not too large or small. Your margins should be uniform and should minimize large areas of white space within the paper.  

ATTENDANCE & LATENESS

Attendance will be taken randomly throughout the semester.  A greater emphasis is placed on participation rather than simple attendance, however, you cannot participate if you are not there.  Absences and late work are excused only by arrangements with the instructor.

PORTFOLIOS

            Students are required to keep a portfolio (available in bookstore).  All the work for the class is to be kept in a binder.  This includes tests, quizzes, papers, and other work from the class.   The portfolio will be collected at the end of the semester and reviewed by the department administration.  Students wishing to have their portfolios returned should contact the department at the end of the following semester to make arrangements for pick-up of the work.

SYLLABUS

WEEK

SUBJECT MATTER

ASSIGNMENT

DATE

1

Introduction & Problem-solving

Definitions

 

2

Reviewing the Basics

Summary

 

3

Geography

Summary

 

4

Technology

Summary

 

5

Appropriate Technology-Ozone Depletion

Summary

 

6

Fossil Fuels & Global Warming

Summary

 

7

Pollution & Human Health

 

 

8

MIDTERM/Papers

 

 

9

Human Population

Group Orals

 

10

Water Resources & Development

Group Orals

 

11

Land Use and Development

Group Orals

 

12

Agricultural Technology & Desertificaiton

Group Orals

 

13

Loss of Biodiversity

Group Orals

 

14

Final Project Reviews

 

 

15

Final Project Reviews

Final Report Due

 

SUMMARIES

Students are required to bring in an article pertaining to a technology issue for class discussion along with a typewritten summary of the article.  Missed summaries cannot be handing in late.

GROUP ORAL

Each student will select a group and present research pertaining to the material to be presented in that particular class.  Each member of the group must speak and the entire group must function as one unit.  Each group is responsible for introducing the topic for the class and informing the entire class how that subject relates to technology and global development.  

FINAL PROJECT

Each student will be required to submit a final written report during the final project presentation weeks at the end of the semester. This project will utilize the general problem-solving process to examine and attempt to solve the issue discussed in the summaries.   

GRADING

Class Participation = 10%                 Definitions/Summaries = 20%          Group Orals = 20%

Midterm = 20%                                                         Final Project  = 30%

CONTACTING THE PROFESSOR

Office: Culimore—Room 435                                   Phone:  973-642-4743

E-Mail: jlipuma@webspan.net                                  Fax:      973-642-4689


Top

Main Page
Assignments