Professor: J. Lipuma

Section: 001

Meeting times: T 1:00 - 2:25, R 11:30 - 12:55

Understanding And Teaching Science And Technology Concepts is a Humanities Capstone course that examines how experts understand complex disciplinary ideas and can convey them to a general non-expert group.  It explores common communication and teaching methods to prepare students to convey knowledge from particular areas of expertise to other people that are both somewhat knowledgeable in that area as well as those who are complete novices.  Case studies and examples will be used to demonstrate how technical ideas and complex concepts in highly specialized fields can be understood, communicated about, conveyed, and taught to others effectively.  The course will focus on form and content as well as methods of delivery for different situations requiring communication or exchange of information.  In the end, the student will demonstrate the ability to present concepts from their major to others who are not so that those ideas are understood as might happen when an employer or client receives a technical report in the business world.

For information about this seminar, visit, http://web.njit.edu/~lipuma or contact J. Lipuma at james.m.lipuma@njit.edu.

Economic Organizations in the 21st Century
Professor: W. Beaton
Section: 003
Meeting: T 11:30 - 12:55, F 2:30 - 3:55

Section: 101

Meeting: F 6:00 - 9:05

Seniors at NJIT will soon be leaving the university and starting their professional careers. Most likely, each will find a position within an economic organization: either a profit making corporation, a government agency or a non-governmental organization. No matter what the form, economic organizations are reacting to the technological revolutions in communications and computers of the past 40 years. Terms such as outsourcing, in sourcing, off shoring are gaining prevalence in the business news. Organizations are restructuring, cross-functional teams are being created and young professionals are being placed in drastically different working environments than would have been the case 10 years ago. In this seminar, we shall examine the range of causes underlying these revolutions, examine the conceptual frameworks guiding organizational change, show organizations to be more than the static set of hierarchical departments of the past but highly dynamic but uncertain environments in which to work, and examine the role of recent graduates in understanding the changes that are occurring as well as maneuvering and helping to reshape the organization that has employed them.

Food, Politics and Technology
Professor: K. Franck
Section: 005
Meeting: M 1:00 - 2:25, W 11:30 - 12:55

In today’s industrialized world many of us take food for granted. With so much prepared food available in stores and restaurants, we can simply purchase and consume it. How easy.  But also how misleading because the technological and social processes by which this food is grown, processed, and distributed as well as the politics involved are largely invisible to us, as are many of the consequences. In this seminar we will examine some of these processes and some of the relationships among food, politics and technology. We will do so by focusing on three kinds of food and food practices that the U.S., or the Americas, contributed to the world. They are: fast food; industrialized agriculture and, much earlier in history, specific foods (including tomatoes, potatoes, corn).

Communication in Technology Transfer and Innovation

Professor: N. Coppola

Section: 007

Meeting: W 8:30 - 9:55 & TBA (hybrid)

In order to help prepare students for careers in a market-oriented productive economy, this course builds on the understanding that communication is essential to innovation development and technology transfer. Students first review the principles of successful technical communication and the models and literature of communication in technology transfer. Then, students apply this knowledge in team-based projects to develop Technology Transfer Communication Strategy (TTCS) for technology start-up companies as needed (business plans, documentation, technical reports, etc.).