HIST 4380.001
Technology & Mental Health (honors)John Z. Sadler, M.D.
Mondays 2:00 - 4:45 p.m.
REVISED 4/15/07
Faculty contact information:
John Z. Sadler, M.D.
Professor of Humanities, UTD
Professor of Psychiatry & Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern
e-mail:
John.Sadler@UTSouthwestern.eduUT Southwestern office: 214 648 4960
UT Southwestern fax: 214 648 4967
UTD office: Jonsson building room 5.512
UTD office phone: 972 883 2134
Office hours: by appointment only
Course description:This course discusses the meaning of living within a technology-dominated culture and considers the effects of technoculture on mental health and the “self”. The first half of the course introduces the student to the philosophy of technology. Topics considered in this portion include analysis of technology-related values, the cultural saturation of technology, sustainability and security, and the effects of technology on the self and human relationships. The second portion of the course addresses the effects of technology on the mental health field proper. Students will consider the ethics of psychopharmacological and genetic enhancement, the effects of computer technology on mental health proper, and thinking about the humanistic “reform” of our relationship to technology.
Overall course objectives:
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
1. Describe the psychological effects, and the influence upon thinking, that technological culture provokes.
2. Describe the metaphysical power of technology and give numerous examples of how this power is manifested in everyday life and the “self”.
3. Describe the value structure of technological culture, and critically discuss how humanity should respond to technological culture and its value system.
4. Relate the preceding objectives to particular problems in mental health: use of psychopharmacology, internet overuse and addiction, video gaming overuse, and mental health practice.
Course requirements:You will be doing group activities during each class - bring pens/pencils/paper to write on.
Attendance, participation, facilitation, taking both exams and completing two short papers.
Reading requirements:Nye, David E. 2006.
Technology Matters: Questions to Live With. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
Borgmann, Albert. 1984.
Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life: A Philosophical Inquiry. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Kramer, Peter. 1997.
Listening to Prozac, with a new afterword. New York: Penguin.
Elliott, Carl and Chambers, Tod (eds). 2004.
Prozac as a Way of Life. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Online PDFs:
Sadler, JZ: 2005. “Technology” from Values and Psychiatric Diagnosis, Oxford University Press.
Anderson CA. 2004. An update on the effects of playing violent video games. Journal of Adolescence 27: 113-122.
Thornburgh D and Lyn H. 2004. Youth, Pornography, and the Internet. Issues in Science and Technology Winter issue.
Aboujaoude E et al 2006. Potential markers for problematic internet use: A telephone survey of 2513 adults. CNS Spectrums 11:10, p. 750-755.
Grading:Based upon a 100- point system
Midterm short essay examination: 15 points
Final short essay examination: 15 points
Examinations are open-book (bringing texts recommended), short, synthetic essay-oriented.
Short paper 1: 10 points
Short paper 2: 10 points
Short papers are referenced topical essays on topics similar to those discussed in class.
Attendance and participation: 60 points
For each class (excluding exam days) you will be graded up to five points for your attendance and participation according to this schedule:
Absent = 0
Present with little to no participation = 1
Present, prepared, largely dominating discussion = 1
Present, unprepared but with discussion and facilitation = 1
Present, prepared, variable degree of participation & facilitation = 2 to 4
Present, well-prepared, insightful comments, facilitates others’ participation = 5
I am looking for well-prepared students who think about the topic, contribute their own ideas, and facilitate other students’ contributions. When everyone participates, everyone’s scores rise.
If you do the math, you’ll see a potential for up to 10 bonus points for classroom discussion.
End of term Grading scale:
Points Grade Grade-point per semester hour
100 + A+ 4.00
97-99 A 4.00
94-96 A- 3.67
91-93 B+ 3.33
88-90 B 3.00
85-87 B- 2.67
82-84 C+ 2.33
79-81 C 2.00
76-78 C- 1.67
73-75 D+ 1.33
70-72 D 1.00
0 - 69 F 0.00
Unreturned papers and exam absences = 0 points
Late papers = lose 2 points/day up to 3 days, then 0 points
Absences excused by arrangement with faculty, preferably in advance, rationale should be justified.
Schedule and assignments:
January 8
Topics: Introduction, orientation to course
View film: Metropolis (1927) Directed by Fritz Lang
Discussion questions:
Besides being a romantic story, this is a “message” movie. What are the messages?
This film is rich in symbolism. What are some examples of symbols and what do they mean? How do these symbols fit into the “big picture”?
What questions about technology are raised by the film? What questions about mental health? How are they related?
January 15
No class - Martin Luther King day
Do your reading!
January 22
Assignment: David Nye, Technology Matters: Questions to Live With, Introduction and chapters 1- 4.
Topics: defining technology, control and technology, prognosticating about technology
Discussion exercises:
a. What is technology? Is technology made up of artifacts (things) or processes (activities)? Nye uses many examples, some of which are central examples or “exemplars”, others more peripheral. What do you think are the best examples of a “technology”? What are the questionable examples? What are the core features of a technology according to Nye? A “conceptual analysis” means you test your definition of a concept against actual examples of the concept. Because technologies are everywhere in our culture, gaining clarity about what technology is might also be aided by finding examples of what technology isn’t. Do Nye’s core features of technology hold up against your analysis?
b. The “technological imperative” is now a cliche, referring to the idea that once a technology is built, it will be used. Nye provides counterexamples of this in Chapter 2. Can you provide your own examples of technologies that were invented but never used? Why were they not used?
Conversely, can you think domains of human activities (art, engineering, gardening, medicine, eating, etc.) where technologies are always (or never) used? What are the conditions of use of technology? How do societies (historical and contemporary) regulate technology use?
c. Dr. B, a neuroscientist at UT Southwestern, is working on the molecular mechanisms of sleep regulation. He has found a gene that when “knocked out” enables mice to resist sleep, remaining alert, for an additional 36+ hours. The U.S. Department of Defense wants him to find a drug to temporary suspend this gene’s function so that soldiers can function optimally for super-human stretches of time.
Assuming that Dr B makes the discovery of this drug, prognosticate the implications of Dr B's discovery using Nye’s tripartite formulation of prognosticating (p. 34) - prediction, forecasting, projection. Then critique your own work by describing how your prognosticating could break down.
January 29
Assignment: Nye, Chapters 5 - 8.
Topics: differentiation vs. standardization, technology and politics, regulation of technology
Discussion exercises:
a. In chapter 5, Nye discusses whether technology dilutes or enhances social and cultural differences. Have your group consider the effect of the computer and Internet on cultural homo- versus heterogeneity. How has the Internet contributed to globalized culture? How has it contributed to increasing cultural diversity? Are their patterns to your examples in each case? Can you generate rules about how the Internet has affected cultural diversity?
b. Nye and other authors in Chapter 6 imply that there is a link between technology and capitalism. What is this link, and how does it work? Compare the development of technology in capitalist (e.g, USA), socialist (e.g., Sweden), and communist (China, old Soviet Union) countries. What does your analysis suggest about technology and work/leisure discussed in Chapter 7? What does your analysis suggest should be done about protecting the environment and “sustainability” (ability to maintain a given level of production over a long time period)?
c. The year is 2030. Genetic technology has advanced so that people can tweak the genes of an unborn child so that particular traits like intelligence and athletic skill can be added, and genetic risk factors for illness can be removed (a la the movie Gattaca). Assuming the economic market works much like it does today, argue for and against economically regulating this technology. Use ethical arguments about which model insures the most flourishing of humanity, and explain why. If arguing for regulation, explain how you would have the technology regulated.
February 5
Assignment: Nye, Chapters 9-11.
Topics: complexity of technology implementation, consequences of technological use
Discussion exercises:
a. Some “futurists” have claimed that the human race should create a “universal manual,” a guidebook that would allow humanity to recreate and sustain its technologies in the face of a natural or other apocalypse. Imagine an event that destroys most of the world’s population including the many experts in various technologies. This guidebook would aid the survivors in maintaining, building, and utilizing the technologies of the world, in an effort to rebuild the human race and (presumably) ecosystem.
Use Nye’s cautions and arguments from chapters 9-11 to critically evaluate this idea. Three groups will consider each of the three areas below, and then convene to discuss the broader issue. You can consult each other’s group as you develop your ideas.
a1. If such a guidebook was possible, what media form would it take? What would be the benefits and limitations of each idea you develop? What would need to be in place for it to be usable?
a2. In order to use such a guidebook, what would the general population need in terms of an education? How should experts be trained and educated in preparation for use of the guidebook? What would be the minimum conditions for the book’s usability?
a3. The local population of survivors with the guidebook would be 1000 people. Some scientists and engineers would be among the survivors, but not all areas of expertise would be represented (e.g., no neurosurgeons, but three obstetricians and a smattering of other physicians; no guidebook experts but several information technology engineers). Develop a generic plan for implementing use of the guidebook, assuming that there are no residual environmental dangers (like nuclear fallout or a toxic climate change). What would be the immediate priorities, and which technologies we have today would you want to restore and utilize? What would be intermediate and later priorities? How would you roll them out?
February 12
Assignment: Albert Borgmann, Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life, Part One, chapters 1-7.
Topic: relationship of science and technology
Discussion exercises:
1. What is the problem of technology for Borgmann? How is the problem related to “theories” of technology? Consider the following thinker’s accounts of technology – explain/summarize what they mean vis a vis technology. Relate to Nye if you can.
a. Ellul’s notion of “technique”
b. Borgmann’s three views of technology: “substantive”, “instrumental” and “pluralist”
c. Mitcham’s three dimensions of technology: subject/material, functional/structural, and social/historical
2. Consider Borgmann’s three aspects of science (p. 17), science as (1) human/social, (2) law/theory (3) science applications. What do these have to do with technology? Then, consider the deductive-nomological explanation in science – what is it? How does it contribute to technology?
3. In chapters 6 and 7, Borgmann talks about how our understanding is transformed by scientific explanation. How is it transformed? How is scientific progress dependent upon psychology? What does Borgmann mean by deictic and subsumptive explanations? What role does each play in understanding technology? Later, (p. 29) B. discusses Hans Jonas’ view that “technology ceaselessly transforms the world along abstract an artificial lines.” What does this mean?
February 19
Assignment: Borgmann, Part Two, chapters 8 - 19.
Topics: device paradigm, technology and social relations, individual relation to technology
Discussion exercises:
1. What is the device paradigm? What distinguishes a device from a thing? Borgmann discusses the characteristics of the device paradigm that they are asocial, interchangeable, universal, and that they are “commodities”. What do each of these descriptions refer to? Give your own examples.
2. In chapter 11, Borgmann talks about the means/end distinction relative to technology. What is the ordinary sense of the notion of “end” and what is the Arendt’s sense of “end” that Borgmann favors? Examples? What about Winner’s notion of “reverse adaptation” (p. 60) – what does this mean – examples? Later, he talks about the counterexample of aesthetic technological structures like skyscrapers. Do they fit into the “device paradigm”? Are they means? Ends? Describe the relation between design and technology with examples.
3. What are focal things? In chapter 13, how are focal things “disadvantaged” by technology? Describe the Marxist critique of technology and how it relates to “focal things”. Describe the relationship between “freedom, equality, and self-development” and technology (p. 89) and give examples.
Mid-term exam information:
Next week, 2/26, following one-hour discussion of Borgmann part three.
Midterm exam involves two essay questions, one familiar from our discussion exercises, one new. Exams are open book – recommend you bring your books. You have thirty minutes per question, one hour for the whole exam. Blue book format. I’ll specify clearly what I’m expecting, e.g., “Describe X and how it relates to a, b, and c. Give three distinct reasons why you agree/disagree, and give a unique example for each. Conclude by presenting two counterarguments to your viewpoint and how you would answer them.”
Mid-term short paper information:
Length should be 400-600 words, typed, double-spaced, hard copy. Standard reference format. No less than 3 references and no more than 10. Due by class time March 26. You may write on one of the three topics below:
1. Pick one of Peter Kramer’s patient cases. Describe how the patient is disengaged from focal things and practices (in Borgmann’s sense). How did the administration of Prozac affect the patient’s engagement with focal things and practices? How did, or did not, Prozac treatment affect the patient’s “ultimate concerns” (Borgmann’s term). Use evidence from the case history to support your claims. If evidence from the case history is lacking for these questions, describe what sort of information about the patient’s life you might look for, if you were Kramer the clinician. Refer to key terms in Borgmann in developing your case.
2. Consider the International Style of architecture discussed in Borgmann. Relate the design philosophy of the International Style to focal things and practices and the device paradigm. Does the International Style philosophy avoid Borgmann's "problem" with technology? Present three or more arguments in support of your viewpoint, and present two or more counterarguments and your response to them.
3. Choose a particular, unique social institution that you believe embodies Borgmann's sense of promoting engagement with focal things and practices. Describe the institution in terms of means and ends in Borgmann's sense. How does it promote engagement? What commodities or technologies does the institution depend upon? How does the institution deal with the "lures" of the device paradigm? Provide at least two reasons for each question and address two strong counterarguments against your position.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 26
Assignment: Borgmann, Part Three, chapters 20 - 26.
Topics: reform of relationships to technology, Midterm Exam (over Nye and Borgmann)
Discussion exercise (first hour only)
What is Borgmann’s general plan for the reform of technology? How is the reform linked to focal things and practices? To ultimate concerns? B. gives three examples of the runner, the “culture of the table”, and the friend getting us out of the front of the TV for a walk. How are these little events important to the reform of technology?
March 12 [JZS Spring Break] – Guest Faculty – Fabrice Jotterand, Ph.D.
Assignment: Peter D. Kramer,
Listening to Prozac, Introduction and chapters 1- 5.
Topic: Mental illness and life, watch and discuss the film “The Hours”
Discussion exercises:
Below are a series of questions about The Hours that frame many of the questions we’ll be considering over the next few weeks. In the classroom round chair setup today, discuss as many of these as you can (with suitable depth, and according to your interests!) knowing that we’ll likely return to The Hours again later in the class. Prof. Fabrice Jotterand will be guest faculty for me today – show him what great students you all are!
1. The Hours can be seen as a “depressing” film! Yet there is an element of hope at the end – what is it and can you elaborate? What does the film teach us about “how to live well?”
2. The Hours presents numerous examples of engagement with focal things and practices, as well as examples of disengagement. Identify examples of each. For those characters who are “disengaged” – what gets in their way, or prevents them from engaging?
3. The film presents several individuals who are struggling with serious mood disorders – “major depression” in the current language. Virginia Woolf was known to be bipolar or “manic-depressive”. What relationship do you think there is between her literary creativity and her mood disorder? What is the evidence from the film that supports your view?
4. Late in the film, when asked about the fate of her literary character Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf is asked by her husband “Why does someone have to die?” and Woolf replies something like “To help the rest of us appreciate life – the contrast”. I think there are at least two aspects or meanings to this statement – one positive and enlightening, the other, grim. Identify other potential meanings of this statement, and describe what this tells us about mental illness embedded in a “life lived”.
5. Several times in this film characters scoff at doctors and their prescriptions. Why do they do this? What does this tell us about the reluctance of people to seek care for mental illness?
6. The film presents several characters who follow seemingly parallel processes in their lives. This is a literary device. For what purpose do you think it has been employed? What does this technique emphasize in the story and its meaning?
7. How are Kramer’s patients like and unlike the characters in the film?
March 19
Assignment: Kramer, Chapters 6 - 9 and Afterword. Guest Faculty – Fabrice Jotterand PhD
Topic: Kramer’s cases of individuals and psychopharmacological technology
Discussion exercises:
1. Consider Kramer’s cases as a group. The general question is whether you think treatment with Prozac improved the patients’ “engagement with focal things and practices” or not. Pick two cases that you think support your position the most strongly, and why, and pick two cases that provide the poorest support for your position (and why). How did you evaluate the patients’ engagement?
2. Kramer’s cases raise the issue of the role of doctors – should they “enhance” the lives of people or merely “restore” people to their usual state of health? His cases raise the question of what mental illness is. Which conditions described by Kramer seem like legitimate diseases (or mental illnesses), and which don’t? Why? What qualifies a mental condition as a disorder?
3. The kinds of clinical responses to Prozac say a lot about what the patient’s values are. Pick two or three cases that are “Prozac responders” and try to identify the values (ultimate or otherwise) that the patients identify as reasons to continue on the drug. Do you think these reasons are legitimate ones for doctors to prescribe for? If you were a psychiatrist, which conditions would you feel comfortable prescribing for, and which not? Why?
March 26
Assignment: Carl Elliott and Tod Chambers (eds):
Prozac as a Way of Life, Section 1, pp. 1 - 82.
Topic: Is psychological enhancement good? For whom?
Discussion exercises:
1. What is “authenticity” and what does it have to do with Prozac? Compare and contrast the accounts of authenticity presented by Parens/Elliott, De Grazia, and Kramer. Are each of these people’s versions of authenticity the same? Discuss your own views about how important authenticity (your choice of “version”) is in your own life, and what you think Prozac does to authenticity.
2. Connect the discussion of Heidegger and Foucault in the Edwards chapter to Borgmann’s key concepts of device paradigm, focal things and practices, and engagement/disengagement. How are they the same, and how different? If Borgmann weighed in on this discussion, what might he say? What do these have to do with Prozac-related “enhancement”?
3. Describe how Healy links marketing and sales to the Prozac phenomenon we have discussed. What impact did Healy’s essay have on your thinking about psychopharmacological enhancement? How does Healy’s essay fit into our earlier discussion of the philosophy and history of technology?
Short paper 1 DUE – bring to class!!
April 2
Assignment: Elliott and Chambers Section 2, pp. 83 - 142.
Topics: Sex, death, and authenticity
Discussion exercises:
1. In the “Kafka’s Boys” chapter, Slater describes the research and personality of sex researcher Martin Kafka, and his use of medication for paraphilic sex offenders. Kafka suggests that at least some sex offenders are sick or disordered. Do you accept Kafka’s viewpoint? Why/why not? There is also a moral dimension to Kafka’s cases – they are wrongdoers – unfaithful to wives, molesters of neighborhood children. Are there other ways to regard these men? What do you think society should do for and with them? Why?
2. In Laurie Zoloth’s chapter, she presents a meditation about the nature of being human, especially emphasizing the inevitability of suffering, disability, and death. Compared to all the other chapters in this book, hers is the most poetic, spiritual, and metaphorical. What is the purpose of this approach to her “points”, and what is accomplished (or not accomplished) by her approach? How would you link her work to the philosophical cautions about technology we have discussed previously?
3. For Carl Elliott’s chapter, he revisits the notion of authenticity. How has it changed from his/our original discussion? On page 136, he paraphrases ethicist Stanley Hauerwas in saying “Every society gets the doctors it deserves, and our doctors are giving us what we demand.” What is it that we are demanding? What does the “enthusiasm” for Prozac (p 138 last paragraph) by society tell us about Prozac, tell us about us, and how we should live?
Final short paper information:
Length should be 400-600 words, typed, double-spaced, hard copy. Standard MLA reference format. No less than 3 references and no more than 10. Due by class time March 26. You may write on ONE of the three topics below:
1. “Computer use and engagement” - Review the ways we have learned computer use promotes Borgmannian disengagement (3 points) and select two or more articles or chapters (from any responsible source) which provide two examples that you believe illustrate powerfully how personal computers can be used to promote engagement in focal things and practices. (3 points) Provide at least two compelling reasons for each example’s relevance. (4 points).
2. “My occupation and technology reform” – Consider an occupation or career field you are seriously considering pursuing as your own, EXCEPT the mental health field. Drawing upon this course’s discussion of the ways technology use can go awry, select two compelling articles or chapters (from any responsible source) that illustrate problems requiring technology reform in that field. (3 points) Provide two or more reasons why reform is needed (4 points). Then, briefly describe a strategy for reform (3 points).
3. Consider the field of “industrial or technology design”. Using your understanding of how values are built-into technological products, present an example of a technological product which, in your view, has design features which promote disengagement with focal things and practices, and give at least two reasons why (3 points). Then present a product which you believe has design elements which promote engagement with focal things and practices, giving two or more reasons why. (3 points) Conclude with a statement of two general principles of design which promote engagement, and show how these principles are reflected in your examples (4 points). Provide a few references which illustrate your discussion.
______________________________________________________________________________
April 9
Assignment: Elliott and Chambers Section 3, pp. 143-206.
Topics: Borgmann, Prozac, and Zen
Discussion exercises:
1. Over the course of these two books, we have seen that Prozac can (in addition to treat depression) allegedly increase assertiveness and goal-directedness, and also that it facilitates Zen equanimity and contemplation. Dr. Sadler says Prozac makes for "good capitalists" and Lauren Slater says it is a Zen drug. Just what does this stuff do, anyway? Do you believe these differing effects are valid, and how? If or if not, how do you account for these diverse reports? What counts as evidence in judging subtle effects of a drug? Are their real commonalities in its effects - and if so, what are they? How do you appraise these reports of "cosmetic psychopharmacology"?
2. These chapters focus on whether Prozac contributes to spiritual practices or shortcuts them. Drawing upon these and our preceding readings, tell us what makes for a profound spiritual practice as opposed to a superficial, commodified one. Check the features of a profound spiritual practice you have formulated against (a) the cultural differences described by Kirmayer and (b) the tribulations of Prozac use by Buddhists in the final three chapters.
3. Chambers raises the issue of the role of Prozac in promoting human diversity vs a cookie-cutter uniformity in us. Do you believe that Prozac promotes a diversity of souls, or rather promotes a particular, and limited, set of values in people - "shiny, happy people" in David Rothman's phrase? Explain. What do you think are appropriate and inappropriate uses of the drug? What guidelines should doctors use in prescribing it?
April 16
Assignment: Anderson, “An Update on the Effects of Violent Video Games”, Robinson et al “Effects of reducing children’s television and video game use on aggressive behavior: a randomized controlled trial Thornburgh and Lin, “Youth, Pornography, and the Internet” (pdf online and
http://www.issues.org/20.2/thornburgh.html ), Aboujaoude et al “Potential Markers for Problematic Internet Use: A Telephone Survey of 2,513 Adults” ( all pdfs online)
Topics: mental health and video technology
Discussion exercises:
1. Present a brief summary of the each article's approach, content, methods, and significance. Critically evaluate each paper in terms of it strengths and limitations.
2. Relate each of the papers and the papers as a group to the themes of this course and what we have learned to date. What light have these papers shed on the course themes? Have these papers introduced problems we haven't yet considered? If so describe and discuss.
3. Consider these papers as a set and discuss their implications for public policy. Use the vantage point of these stakeholders in public policy: the U.S. congressman, the headmaster/principal of a school, a leader in a parents' group, a police chief in a large urban environment.
April 23
Assignment: Sadler, Values and Psychiatric Diagnosis, Chapter 9 “Technology”, McHugh, “What’s the Story” (from The Mind Has Mountains) (pdfs Web CT online)
Topic: values and practices
Discussion exercises:
1. For the McHugh paper, consider his points about the role of narrative understanding and scientific-technical understanding. Pick some occupations, or professional practices OTHER than medicine and describe how McHugh’s points about narrative and science can be applied to problems in those practices, common pitfalls in those practices, as well as enjoyment or personal reward in those practices.
2. What I consider one of the valuable contributions of my own Technology chapter is the link between particular kinds of values (efficiency, economy, etc.) and technological design. Pick some examples of your favorite technologies and describe some value-terms (or words) that are “built-in” to the design, and describe how. Then pick some examples of technologies that you think are flawed and describe what values or characteristics are missing that would have made the technologies “better.” Finally, consider how awareness of design-values for technological artifacts can bring us closer to our ultimate concerns – use examples.
3. You have now thought about engagement and the “technological mode of being” in multiple ways, including reading my own “take” on the issues. Discuss how you might promote the notion of engagement and the “poietic mode of being” in your own lives, with others, and as a public citizen. How would you “teach” it? How would you explain it to children, and at what age? How would you/do you explain it to peers? How would you cultivate your own awareness of disengagement/technological mode vs. engagement/poietic mode?
Short paper 2 DUE
April 30 Final Exam
Student Conduct & Discipline
The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic year.
The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).
A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.
Academic Integrity
The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work.
Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.
Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.
Email Use
The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.
Withdrawal from Class
The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled.
Student Grievance Procedures
Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities, of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.
In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.
Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations.
Incomplete Grade Policy
As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.
Disability Services
The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:
The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)
Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility assistance.
It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.
Religious Holy Days
The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.
The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment.
If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.
Off-Campus Instruction and Course Activities
Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website address given below. Additional information is available from the office of the school dean. (http://www.utdallas.edu/Business Affairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm)
These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.
