Schedule
This is the evolving schedule of the class. Visit often to stay in tune with upcoming changes and announcements. Assignments are listed in this schedule just for students’ advance knowledge; all course work is to be submitted on Google Classroom.
| Date | Topic | |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | 08/18/2022 | Welcome to Bucknell! (10:30am-12:00pm) Writing 1 (due Monday, Aug. 22). |
| Monday | 08/22/2022 | Introduction to the course. Close reading exercise (due Wed., Aug. 24). |
| Wednesday | 08/24/2022 | Writing as a process. Writing 2 (due Fri., Aug. 26). Start reading Čapek – Rossum’s Universal Robots (RUR). |
| Friday | 08/26/2022 | The craft of writing. Read Čapek – Rossum’s Universal Robots (RUR). Writing 3 (due Mon., Aug. 29). |
| Monday | 08/29/2022 | Čapek – Rossum’s Universal Robots. Discussion. Writing 4 (due Wed., Aug. 31). |
| Wednesday | 08/31/2022 | Checkpoint. College life: challenges and opportunities. Class visit by a peer consultant from the Writing Center. Writing 5 (due Fri., Sep. 02). |
| Friday | 09/02/2022 | Making a Solid Argument. Blade Runner The Final Cut (watch during the weekend) Writing 6 (due Mon., Sept. 05). |
| Monday | 09/05/2022 | Scott – Blade Runner The Final Cut. Discussion. Reading on Blade Runner assigned on Google Classroom. Writing 7 (due Wed., Sept. 07). |
| Wednesday | 09/07/2022 | Library Session 1. How influential was RUR? Writing 8 (due Fri., Sept. 09). |
| Friday | 09/09/2022 | Writing Workshop. (See assignment in Google Classroom.) I, Robot (watch during the weekend) Writing 9 (due Mon., Sept. 12). |
| Monday | 09/12/2022 | I, Robot., Blade Runner, and R.U.R. Discussion. |
| Wednesday | 09/14/2022 | Center for Career Advancement. How do you identify a fulfilling career path and how do you get there? Read Asimov’s The Bicentennial Man. |
| Friday | 09/16/2022 | Reading, critical thinking, and writing. Writing 11 (due Mon., Sept. 19). |
| Monday | 09/19/2022 | Asimov – The Bicentennial Man. Discussion. Read Introduction to Ethics. (Moodle/Perusall). |
| Wednesday | 09/21/2022 | An Ethics Primer Read Anderson – Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics and Machine Metaethics (Moodle/Perusall). |
| Friday | 09/23/2022 | Anderson – Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics and Machine Metaethics. Discussion. Formal writing – draft (due Mon., Sept. 26). |
| Monday | 09/26/2022 | Technology in Japan. (including karakuri ningyo) Read Lee et al. – Pepper or Roomba? Effective Robot Design Type Based on Cultural Analysis between Korean and Japanese Users (Moodle/Perusall). Diversity Panel, 6:30pm, Weis Center |
| Wednesday | 09/28/2022 | Library Session 2. Exploring the sources of a research paper. |
| Friday | 09/30/2022 | Lee et al. – Pepper or Roomba? Effective Robot Design Type Based on Cultural Analysis between Korean and Japanese Users. Discussion. Peer Review of formal writing assignment. Read Tezuka – Astro Boy: The Greatest Robot on Earth. Writing (due Wed., Oct. 03) – lift the five most important themes in the story ignoring the juvenile aspects of the plot line. |
| Monday | 10/03/2022 | Tezuka – Astro Boy. Discussion. Read Schodt – The Astro Boy Essays. Writing (due Wed., Oct. 05) – Compare the moral codes of Tezuka’s and Asimov’s robots. |
| Wednesday | 10/05/2022 | Schodt – The Astro Boy Essays. Discussion. Writing (due Fri., Oct. 07) – Revisit your first formal writing assignment – polish it up for a final version taking into account the feedback you have received. |
| Friday | 10/07/2022 | Writing Workshop. (See assignment in Google Classroom.) Readings ahead: Ito – Why Westerners Fear Robots and the Japanese Do Not for Wed., Oct. 10 Sone – Robots, Space, and Place and Sakura – Robot and ukio-e: implications to cultural varieties in human-robot relationships for Fri., Oct. 14. |
| Monday | 10/10/2022 | Fall Break |
| Wednesday | 10/12/2022 | Ito – Why Westerners Fear Robots and the Japanese Do Not. (Mid-Semester Grades Due) Read Sone – Robots, Space, and Place and Sakura – Robot and ukio-e: implications to cultural varieties in human-robot relationships for Fri., Oct. 14. |
| Friday | 10/14/2022 | Socratic Circle 1. Sone and Sakura. Kogonada – After Yang (watch during the weekend) and Carman – They welcomed a robot into their family, now they’re mourning its death Writing – Reaction to the prompt “It makes no sense to grieve over a machine that broke down” Readings ahead: Babe – Why South Korea is an ideal breeding ground for robots, Gal – Perspectives and Approaches in AI Ethics: East Asia, and Hwang – The Threat of AI and Our Response: The AI Charter of Ethics in South Korea for Friday, Oct. 21. |
| Monday | 10/17/2022 | Kogonada – After Yang. Discussion. Read Weinstein – Saying Goodbye to Yang and Knight – After Yang for Wednesday, Oct. 19 |
| Wednesday | 10/19/2022 | Weinstein – Saying Goodbye to Yang and Knight – After Yan. Discussion. |
| Friday | 10/21/2022 | Socratic Circle 2. Babe, Dal, and Hwang. Readings ahead: Lim – Social Robots on a Global Stage, and Papadopoulos – The Influence of Culture on Attitudes Towards Humanoid and Animal-like Robots for Wednesday Oct. 28. |
| Monday | 10/24/2022 | Let’s talk about East Asia. Videos and discussion. |
| Wednesday | 10/26/2022 | Library Session 3. Generating keywords and researching sources for term paper. |
| Friday | 10/28/2022 | Socratic Circle 3. Lim and Papadopoulos. Term Paper Stage 1 (due Wed., Nov. 02) – bibliography. Readings ahead: Trovato – Religion and Robots, and Weng – The Religious Impacts of Taoism on Ethically Aligned Design in HRI for Wednesday Nov. 09. |
| Monday | 10/31/2022 | Working with a reference manager. Registration for Spring 2023 starts today. Last day for 10th-week withdrawal is Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. |
| Wednesday | 11/02/2022 | Term Paper Stage 1 due. |
| Friday | 11/04/2022 | No class. Term Paper Stage 2 (due Mon., Nov. 07) – outline. |
| Monday | 11/07/2022 | Westworld. Discussion. |
| Wednesday | 11/09/2022 | Socratic Circle 4. Trovato and Weng. |
| Friday | 11/11/2022 | Library Session 4. Work session for the term paper (help with additional research, sources, bibliography, and citations). Term Paper Stage 2 due. Outline. Term Paper Stage 3 (due Wed., Nov. 16) – draft 1. |
| Monday | 11/14/2022 | Japan Releases Fully Performing Female Robots An exercise in critical thinking. [video] |
| Wednesday | 11/16/2022 | |
| Friday | 11/18/2022 | Term Paper Stage 3 due. Draft 1. |
| Monday | 11/21/2022 | |
| Wednesday | 11/23/2022 | |
| Friday | 11/25/2022 | Term Paper Stage 4 (due Mon., Dec. 05) – draft 2. Peer review workshop |
| Monday | 11/28/2022 | Term Paper Stage 4 self-assessment |
| Wednesday | 11/30/2022 | Term Paper Stage 4 individual conferences |
| Friday | 12/02/2022 | Term Paper Stage 4 individual conferences |
| Monday | 12/05/2022 | Term Paper Stage 4 due. Draft 2. Term Paper Stage 5 (due Fri., Dec. 09) – final version. (Final class meeting) |
| Friday | 12/09/2022 6:30pm | Term Paper Stage 5 due. Final version. |
