Courses:

Engineering Ethics >> Content Detail



Syllabus



Syllabus



Course Description


This course is presented in three parts: theory; case studies; and research and presentation. The greater part of the time in this course is spent in Part 2 on the engineering ethics case studies. The course will be graded from a mid-term covering Part 1 and some topics in Part 2, and from a major paper and presentation. This is a group project on a topic from Part 2, pulling together in-depth research by individuals in Part 3.

Part 1 consists in ethics, philosophy of engineering, and the engineering ethics case study methodology. Major features of Western ethics in the Greek and Latin traditions are studied. Kant, Mill, Kierkegaard and Augustine are among the readings. Ties from the West to other cultural traditions are made by the narrative approach to ethics with emphasis on mythic stories. Joseph Campbell is principal consultant. Philosophy of engineering is laid down in the four major categories of philosophy: metaphysics, ethics, epistemology and education. Readings include, respectively: Aristotle's The Metaphysics; Pinkus' Engineering Ethics; Vincenti's What Engineers Know And How They Know It; B. V. Koen's Discussion of the Method; and Harvard University's General Education in a Free Society and ASEE's Grinter Report.

Part 2 consists in engineering ethics case studies. Historical cases are taken primarily from the scholarly literatures on engineering ethics, and hypothetical cases are written by students. Each student will write a story by selecting an ancestor or mythic hero as a substitute for a character in a historical case. Students will compare these cases and recommend action. Readings include: Harris' Engineering Ethics; and Broome's The Concrete Sumo.

Part 3 readies the students for their major papers. Cases are selected and teams are organized around them. The cases are studied in-depth in pairs of approaches as was done in Part 2. The in-depth studies are assigned by the team, but conducted by individuals. Dry runs for the presentations are conducted.



Course Level


This course is a graduate level course, and is open to undergraduates with the instructor's permission.



Course Calendar


Topics for the lectures are as follows.

Instructors: TB = Dr. Taft Broome


Lec #TopicsINSTRUCTORS
Part 1: Theory
1Introduction to the Course: Purpose, Objectives, Scope, Methods, DiscussionTB
2Introduction to Ethics ITB
3Introduction to Ethics II; Initial Discussion of B. F. Goodrich CaseTB
4Introduction to Philosophy of Engineering IProf. Joel Moses
5Introduction to Philosophy of Engineering IITB
6Introduction to Engineering Ethics: Codes of Ethics, Whistle Blowing, Case Study MethodologyTB
7Case Studies: Finish Challenger Case; Ford Pinto CaseTB
Part 2: Case Studies
8Case Studies: Chernobyl, Three Mile IslandTB
9Case Studies (cont.): News ArticlesTB
10Case Studies: Chernobyl, Three Mile Island (cont.)TB
11Case Studies: B. F. Goodrich A7D Air Force BrakesTB
12First Principles of Engineering EthicsTB
Mid Term
13Solving Ethical Problems: Discussion of Heroes, Journeys, and Virtue in MythologyTB
14Individual, Professional, and Institutional ValuesProf. Sheila Widnall
15Leadership in Engineering and IndustryTB
16Competency with Good CharacterTB
17Recap of Semester so Far; Introduction to Codes of EthicsTB
18Codes of Ethics (cont.)TB
19Safety; Introduction to Narrative EthicsTB
20Ethical TerminologyTB
Part 3: Research Projects
21Planning for Public Seminar; Terminology (cont.)TB
22Public Seminar on Narrative Ethics

Purpose: to initiate a systematic approach to the problems of identifying cross-cultural issues in the ethical education of science and engineering students, and extract from these issues lessons that may enhance the research experience in the globalization process
TB with Prof. Segun Gbadegesin, Howard University
23Human FlourishingTB
24Student PresentationStudents
Final Exam: Final Written Report



Grading Policy



ACTIVITIESPERCENTAGES
Class Participation10%
Homework25%
Early Presentation20%
Final Presentation20%
Final Written Report25%



Instructor Biography


Dr. Taft Broome is the Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professor during the Spring 2006 term.

Dr. Broome holds an Sc.D., which he received from George Washington University in 1972. A Professor of Engineering at Howard University, he has served there as Chair of the Civil Engineering Department and Chair of the University Senate.

Dr. Broome has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in civil and environmental engineering, focusing on structures and vibrations. His research centers on continuous and combined dynamical systems; ethics and philosophy of engineering; character and development; and race and techno-citizenship. He has published extensively in these areas.

Dr. Broome is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Rensselaer Alumni Fellow, and he has served in leadership positions at the national level in more than a dozen scholarly and professional societies. He has received numerous awards from student organizations for outstanding teaching and service, and is faculty advisor of Howard University's chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.

Dr. Broome has been a visiting professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Duke University and a summer research fellow at NASA and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.


 








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