| CS 10SC. Intellectual Excitement of Computer Science—Sophomore College. All too often, students today have come to equate computer science with programming, oblivious to the fact that computer science is a much broader field with a rich intellectual tradition. This seminar introduces students to several of the most interesting and challenging problems in computer science, exploring a range of topics including the analysis of algorithms, computability, cryptography, hardware design, and artificial intelligence. This year's course, which is also open to students from Oxford University, will place particular emphasis on British contributions to computer science, including the work of Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, and Tony Hoare. Students are expected to undertake a small-group research project examining other intellectually exciting aspects of the field. No prior experience with computer science is required, but an interest in and enthusiasm for problem-solving will help enormously. |
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CS 68N. Technological Visions of Utopia—Stanford Introductory
Seminar. Preference to freshmen. The role of computers and other
technologies in literary visions of utopian and anti-utopian societies.
Readings include classical utopian texts including More’s
Utopia and Bellamy’s Looking Backward, along with recent
books and films in which technology plays a more central role.
Last offered in 2004-05. Superseded by IHUM 58. |
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The Two Cultures: Bridging the Gap—In 1959, the British
physicist and novelist C. P. Snow delivered a lecture at Cambridge
University in which he argued that “the intellectual life of the
whole of western society is increasingly being split into two polar
groups.” In Snow’s view, these groups, which can be
characterized roughly as humanists and scientists, exist as separate
cultures that have “almost ceased to communicate at all.” In
this seminar, a professor of Computer Science and a professor of English
collaborate to examine the nature of this split—reflected at
Stanford by the tendency to divide the campus community into
“techies” and “fuzzies”—and explore ways to
bridge this cultural gap.
Last offered in 2000-01. |
| CS 106A. Programming Methodology—Introduction to the engineering of computer applications emphasizing modern software engineering principles: object-oriented design, decomposition, encapsulation, abstraction, and testing. Uses the Java programming language. Emphasis is on good programming style and the built-in facilities of the Java language. No prior programming experience required. GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
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CS 181. Computers, Ethics, and Public
Policy—Primarily for majors entering computer-related
fields. Ethical and social issues related to the development and use of
computer technology. Ethical theory, and social, political, and legal
considerations. Scenarios in problem areas: privacy, reliability and
risks of complex systems, and responsibility of professionals for
applications and consequences of their work. Prerequisite: 106B or X.
GER:DB-EthicReas, WIM
Prior to 2008-09, this course was offered as CS 201. |
| IHUM 58. Technological Visions of Utopia— Throughout history, philosophers have speculated about the nature of the “good society” and how to achieve it. Although earlier writers had offered their views, Sir Thomas More gave a name to this ideal society that has become part of common language: utopia. In the almost 500 years since More’s Utopia appeared, society has changed dramatically. Enormous advances in science and technology have opened up new possibilities for utopian society that More and his predecessors could not have envisioned. At the same time, science and technology also entail risks that suggest more dystopian scenarios—in their most extreme form, threats to humanity’s very survival. This course looks at several works that consider how literary visions of society evolved with the progress of science and technology. The readings begin with More and continue forward to the much more technologically determined visions of the late 20th century. The course also considers one cinematic treatment of technology and utopia, Fritz Lang’s film classic Metropolis. |
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OSPOXFRD 18. British Technology and the Second World
War—British science and technology was instrumental in
winning the Second World War. This course looks at several different
technological innovations undertaken in Britain in the context of the
wartime period: the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park
(which Winston Churchill credited with having won the Battle of the
Atlantic), the development of radar, the advances in wartime medicine
and pharmacology (most notably, the first practical uses of penicillin),
and the participation by British scientists in the Manhattan Project.
The course will explore the underlying scientific principles at a level
that should be accessible to students with no college-level background
in science.
GER:DB-EngrAppSci
Last offered in 2003-04. |