Society & Technology College Courses Fall 2009

To join the Society & Technology College, select  the following course as your top foundation seminar preference (in order of preference).

FOUN 090 05 CRN: 13375

The Future is Now
Prof. Janet Knoedler, Economics
Prof. Amy Wolaver, Economics
Fulfills the Following Requirements:
Engineering Social Science, First-Year Course, Writing Level 1, Natural & Fabricated Worlds

In “The Future is Now,” we will discuss and evaluate how predictions have been made in the past, and whether our increasing command of technology has improved our ability to predict our own future.  We will also examine how such predictions have influenced our past decisions and how our success with these past predictions may influence the decisions we currently face.  We will also consider how to cope with the inherent uncertainty in these predictions.  In other words, can humans actively shape their futures, or are we prisoners of the fates?  How should governments make policy based on uncertain predictions?  What are the ethical questions raised by these enquiries?