Spring 2023

COMPSCI 294 100 - LEC 100

Special Topics

Social Justice in EECS

John F Canny

Jan 17, 2023 - May 05, 2023

Mo, We

02:30 pm - 03:59 pm

Soda 306

Class #:30856

Units: 4

Instruction Mode: In-Person Instruction

Offered through Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Current Enrollment

Total Open Seats: -1

Enrolled: 6

Waitlisted: 0

Capacity: 5

Waitlist Max: 10

Open Reserved Seats:

1 reserved for Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Graduate Students

Hours & Workload

1 to 3 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week, and 2 to 11 hours of outside work hours per week.

Course Catalog Description

Topics will vary from semester to semester. See Computer Science Division announcements.

This course takes an action-oriented approach to recognizing, analyzing and addressing inequalities in the social and technical spheres of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. It will cover the role of racism in the early development of Silicon Valley, through to the recent impacts of information technologies and technology companies on inequities in the US and abroad. Students will learn to recognize the power imbalances between majority and minority groups, and how they lead to marginalization of minority groups. We will analyze the lack of diversity in the tech field, and the steps being taken to mitigate it. We will discuss discrimination in the technologies themselves, such as algorithmic bias, surveillance and categorization technologies and predictive policing. The course will feature a number of guest lectures, and weekly small-group discussions.