Lecture 1: Introduction, Course Overview¶
In this lecture students are introduced to the foundations of data science and the social implications of computing and data science. Data science is discussed through a historical lens of W.E.B. Du Bois’ visualizations and the role of visualizations as a means of communication.
Reading 1: Cathy O’Neil, Weapons of Math Destruction, 2017. Chapter 3 Arms Race: Going to College¶
Discussion 1: WMD, and Names, Operations¶
In this discussion students explore the social implications of data-driven ranking systems and the potential biases embedded in their design. Students also get hands-on practice with Python basics including naming conventions, PEMDAS, and debugging.
Lab 1: Using Jupyter Notebooks¶
In this lab students are introduced to the Jupyter notebook environment, including Markdown formatting, Python arithmetic, and variable naming.