ecially with regard to the problems of human autonomy, creativity, and manipulation.
(4) the moral limits to technology and their likely effectiveness.
(5) the images of technological humans in contemporary society in literature, sociology, and philosophy.
(D) Diplomatic and political constraints Lectures were delivered by a history department member specializing in the impact of technology on international relations and the State Department expert in space affairs. The speakers addressed the relationship of the proposed system to:
(1) East-West problems, such as: possible military uses, destabilizing effects, and impacts on Soviet-American cooperation.
(2) North-South problems, such as: use of scarce resources and participation by newly developed countries.
(E) Social organization and experimentation Faculty from the departments of psychology, history, and political science discussed:
(1) Human behavior in closed environments.
(2) The proposed system's long-term relationship to experimental societies, including: comparisons of utopian models in colonial experience with communities envisioned in contemporary science fiction; and the impact on social processes in a colonial society, including dependence on and autonomy from a parent society and freedom and authority within a colonial society.
(3) Colonial societies as a mirror of and metaphor for a parent society and as learning tools to understand contemporary social organization and policy.
The principal course requirement for students was preparation of a term paper, developed in consultation with the lecturer having the greatest expertise in relevant subject matters. The course coordinator reviewed all papers to maintain consistency in grading standards. Following completion of the course, a University administrator met privately with students to obtain their frank assessments of the course. Students were uniformly favorable in their appraisals, noting the importance of ensuring that each speaker was fully aware of the preceding lectures to avoid redundancy or unwarranted assumptions that the students have knowledge prerequisite to the lecture.
An interdisciplinary course is a labor-intensive activity, requiring a great deal of advance planning, especially if a number of speakers are scheduled. Inadequate advance planning can severely jeopardize the quality of the course. Additionally, one individual should be charged with the principal responsibility for course coordination, even if an activist coordinating committee exists. Basic course logistics, continuity, and standards require such an approach.
On balance, the Georgetown course seemed very worthwhile. A number of students indicated that the course had provided fresh insights into other University course work.
Course: The High Frontier: Technology, Diplomacy, and Human Values
Instructor: T. Stephen Cheston
This interdisciplinary course is intended to explore the relevance of considerations drawn from the social sciences and the humanities to the development of technology, specifically, the industrial utilization of space. The course will consist of a series of lectures on different questions raised by the prospect of industrialization and colonization in space. These lectures will be given by specialists (see below) in physics, business, economics, philosophy, theology, history, government, and social psychology.
The issues to be covered include:
(1) an introduction to physical and technological possibilities and limitations for projected industrial activities in space;
(2) economic assessment of the project and business opportunities;
(3) the project as seen in relation to the American social and intellectual traditions and in relation to religious and political imagination;
(4) political constraints and international demands on the project; and
(5) problems of colonial society in space.
Other topics to be considered will be: the history of the U.S. space program, space law, and parallel experiences of colonization. While the course deals with possibilities presented by current technology, the methods of reflect