This is Xiaolan Zhang, associate professor and chair of Computer and Information Science Department at Fordham University.
CISC 4001 R01 Computers and Robots in Film (Spring 2015)
Class Time: Monday & Thursday 11:30 – 12:45, KE 219
Instructors: Dr. Roger Tsai and Dr. Gary Weiss
Contact Information:
Dr. Roger Tsai Dr. Gary Weiss
rtsai2@fordham.edu gaweiss@fordham.edu
JMH 303 JMH 308A
Office Hours: 1-2pm Office Hours: MR 10:45 – 11:30, by appointment
Course Description: Computers and robots have played a significant role in movie history, occupying pivotal
roles in both critically and commercially successful films. Very often the role of computers and robots in
these films is influenced by what is occurring in society and in this course we will examine how
philosophical, historical, socio-economic, and psychological factors impact the portrayal of these human
artifacts and what this says about us and society. We will also analyze the accuracy of these portrayals from
a computer science perspective and discuss relevant computer science concepts. Readings will be assigned
to provide insight into the films and to introduce interdisciplinary perspectives. This course, and the
associated readings, will especially focus on perspectives from computer science, philosophy, and film and
media studies.
The course will focus on a number of key questions and will analyze these questions from multiple
perspectives. Some of the questions that will be addressed include:
What does it mean to be human? What is the role of humans in our increasingly technological
world? Are we becoming unnecessary? Can robots be "human?" What is the nature of reality?
What does philosophy say about these questions? How are our fears and insecurities (economic,
social, and psychological) reflected in the portrayal of computers and robots in film?
Why computers and robots are so often portrayed as out of control and as trying to take over the
world? What is the role of technology in society? What are the historical, economic, and
psychological factors that are responsible for this portrayal? Are such portrayals a realistic concern?
What are the philosophical implications of advances in technology? How has computer technology
and computer-based communication impacted the way we communicate, live our lives, and
interact?
How has the perception of the computer expert (geek, nerd, guru, etc.) changed over time? How
does this relate to sociological and economic changes in society?
During the course students will view (outside of class) approximately one film per week that involves
computers, computer technology, or robots. The content and discussion of these films will introduce the
students to key areas within computer science (e.g., artificial intelligence, robotics, networks, computer
vision, computer security, etc.), and help them understand how our perceptions of these areas are affected
by context (historical, economic, sociological, and psychological). Many of the films address deep
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philosophical issues. The class meetings will be heavily discussion-oriented, with students expected to
actively participate in the discussion. The course will also involve the writing of a significant final paper,
which will address a key question (perhaps from the list above), and will require the students to consider
multiple disciplines and perspectives. Each student will prepare and present a brief topic during class.
Attendance, Class Participation, and Watching the Films: It is important to attend every class and to be
prepared for every class. Being prepared means that you carefully and recently watched the assigned
movie, have thought about it, and have completed any assigned readings. Please actively participate in
class since this will make the course more interesting for everyone! Given the nature of this class, class
participation will impact your grade, although with a large class, individual participation will be, of
necessity, somewhat limited. If you have an issue and cannot complete an assignment on time or watch a
movie on time, whenever feasible let us know beforehand. Although the class participation grade only
counts for a limited amount in the class, excessive absences will impact your grade beyond the class
participation component. There will be no penalty for absences that are excused according to Fordham’s
attendance policy and the instructors will permit one unexcused absence; each additional unexcused
absence will result in a 2% to 4% reduction in your final average. There will also be a quiz associated with
each movie and the quiz will usually be given at the start of the class period. Please do not be late since that
may cause you to miss the quiz. Repeated lateness, as the discretion of the instructors, may count as an
absence.
Student Presentations: Each student will do one presentation during the course. Presentations will be done
individually and the expected length of the presentation is about 10 minutes, plus 5 additional minutes for
questions and discussion. The presentation topics may focus on specific aspects of the films and students
may choose the topic from the list of presentation topics listed on the class schedule in Blackboard. A
student may come up with a topic, but should clear the topic with the faculty lead for that film. Once a
student selects a topic, they should email the faculty lead for that movie, who will then update blackboard
to reflect that the topic has been assigned to them and the date of the presentation (one of the two classes
assigned to the film). The faculty member will then email the student confirming the topic and date. Topics
will be approved on a first-come-first-served basis and the number of topics to be covered for each movie
will be limited (typically 2-4 per movie). It behooves each student to select a topic well in advance so they
are not stuck with a movie and/or topic that they are not interested in.
Readings and Homework: Readings or other homework will be assigned for most classes. These can be
found under the schedule under readings. You are required to complete these readings (or view the videos,
etc.) prior to the class. You will be tested on these readings and other homework content during the in-class
quiz associated with each movie (the quiz will also cover the movie to ensure that you have watched it
carefully). Several of the readings will be from "The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film" by Steven Sanders.
This book is available online from Google Books, but Google may limit your access to the chapters, which is
why we list the book as a required book to purchase.
The Final Paper: The final paper will be due during the date indicated on the class schedule. The paper
must address a significant question and must analyze multiple films (it may include relevant films that are
not covered during the course). The paper should include at least two disciplines and perspectives, one of
which can be Computer Science and the films must play a central role in the paper (i.e., the main focus
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cannot be on a technical topic with the films playing only a secondary role). The paper should also examine
the question from an economic, philosophical, psychological, film theory and/or historical perspective.
Students may work alone or in groups of two. As a guideline, papers submitted by an individual should be
approximately 3,000 words and those submitted by teams of two should be approximately 4,500 – 5,000
words. This final course project is meant to be a significant paper and should reflect considerable effort and
thought and should be well written and carefully proofread. The paper should include appropriate
references and material that is not the author's should be properly cited, as required by the academic
integrity policy. A list of potential final paper essay questions will be provided. An abstract must be
submitted by the due date specified on the schedule. The abstract should specify the title of the paper, the
names of the students (1 or 2), the topic/questions to be addressed, a tentative list of the movies that will
be analyzed, and a 300-600 word abstract that describes the key aspects of the paper. The final paper
should also contain an abstract, although you can refine it and it need not match the one submitted
initially. The early abstract allows the instructors to ensure that you choose an appropriate question and
will help ensure that you are on the right track.
Watching the Films: Students are expected to watch the films in a timely manner, according to the class
schedule, and to have watched the movie before the start of the class for which it is assigned (unless
otherwise stated). If a student has seen the movie before, perhaps years ago, the student is expected to re-
watch the movie. The quizzes that we give during the semester will include some fairly detailed questions
that only students that have viewed the movie recently may be able to answer correctly. You should expect
to be quizzed on every movie.
There will be multiple methods for watching the films, but ultimately the student is responsible for finding a
way to watch the movie. We will discuss the various methods for watching the films during the first class.
However, note that all of the films required for this class are on reserve in the Walsh library. These films can
be accessed in room 040 in Walsh’s Electronic Information Center (EIC), which has 10 stations for DVD
viewing. Note that these films cannot be taken out of the library and in fact cannot be taken out of the EIC
(e.g., for group viewing). Some of the films may be available through the libraries own collection, in which
case they can be checked out for 4 hours. Many of the films may be available for streaming from Netflix
and/or Amazon Prime.
Academic Honesty: All work produced in this course should be your own unless it is specifically stated that
you may work with others. You may discuss the movies with other students generally when writing an
essay, but may not copy from another student (or from the Internet), and such plagiarism is a violation of
Fordham's academic integrity policy and violations will be handled in accordance with university policy
(which can include automatic failure of the assignment and/or failure of the course). See Fordham's
Undergraduate Policy on Academic Integrity for more information.
Grading: The following grading scheme will be used. The instructors reserve the right to make minor
changes to the grading scheme, as necessary. Note that the final exam will cover all material covered during
the class, including the film discussions, student presentations, and technical content.
Quizzes: 20% Midterm Exam: 20%
Final Exam: 20% Class Presentation: 8%
Final Paper: 25% Final Paper Early Abstract: 2%
Class Participation: 5%
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Tentative Film Schedule: Below is the tentative film schedule for the class. This schedule is provided as part
of the syllabus in order to give you an accurate idea of the films that the class will cover. This schedule does
not include readings and other homework that will be assigned, or the technical material that will be
covered in the course. The schedule below (i.e., as part of the syllabus) will not be updated to reflect any
changes in the course. Students should always check the class schedule on Blackboard, which will serve as
the official schedule for the class.
1. Monday January 12 Introduction
2. Thursday January 15 Metropolis: Complete Version (Weiss)
3. Thursday January 22 * Has 25 minutes of “found footage” & running time about 147 min
4. Monday January 26 Frankenstein (Weiss)
5. Thursday January 29
6. Monday February 2 The Social Network (Tsai)
7. Thursday February 5
8. Monday February 9 Disconnect (Tsai)
9. Thursday February 12
10. Tuesday February 17 2001: Space Odyssey (Tsai)
11. Thursday February 19
12. Monday February 23 In Class Viewing of “We Live in Public”
13. Thursday February 26 Midterm
14. Monday March 2 Blade Runner: Final Cut Version (Weiss)
15. Thursday March 5
16. Monday March 9 AI: Artificial Intelligence (Weiss)
17. Thursday March 12
18. Monday March 23 I, Robot I (Tsai)
19. Thursday March 26
20. Monday March 30 Wargames (Weiss)
21. Thursday April 9
22. Monday April 13 Matrix (Weiss)
23. Thursday April 16
24. Monday April 20 Her (Tsai)
25. Thursday April 23
26. Monday April 27 Special Student Presentations
27. ?? Final Exam
