ECON 180 - FS: First-Year Seminar

FDR: SS1 (if approved)
Credits: 3

Fall 2021, ECON 180-01: FS: First-Year Seminar: The 4th Industrial Revolution and the Future of Work and Society (3). Prerequisite: First-year class standing only. This fall, millions of students will head off to start college, eager to understand more about themselves and the world they will work and live in. The technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution - voice and facial recognition, machine learning, and algorithms to guide predictions, all of which fall under the umbrella of artificial intelligence, and industrial robotics - are emerging as defining features of contemporary social and economic life.  This course explores the determinants and socioeconomic impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution through an economic lens, while also embracing and utilizing insights from other disciplines.  The full range of fundamental economic ideas and concepts found in a conventional course on the principles of micro and macroeconomics will be introduced, mastered, and drawn upon to facilitate our exploration.  Indeed, this course meets the requirement for economics courses that have Economics 100 as a pre-requisite.  Students will develop their analysis, writing, and presentation skills through readings, short compositions, essay exams, class discussion, and small group activities. (SS1) Goldsmith and Casey.