Educating Frankenstein: an interdisciplinary approach to teaching undergraduate computing and ethics

Abstract

The author argues that many textbooks designed for undergraduate courses in computing and ethics do not help students become socially responsible designers and users of information technology because they don't encourage critical reflection on the meaning of technology in human experience. A pedagogy is described that is organized around the theory and methodology of phenomenology. Its goal is to teach students to discover new meanings and their implications for both ethical practice and responsible action. Phenomenology thus complements case study approaches and extends their usefulness.