Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Project Sessions: 1 session / week, 1.5 hours / session

About D-Lab

D-Lab is a course sequence in technologies for international development. For the 2004-2005 school year, D-Lab is a combination of two courses plus supplemental field trips. The fall class, SP.721, provides a basic background in international development and appropriate technology through guest speakers, case studies and hands-on exercises. This course SP.722 is the second in the sequence, and offers experience with product design, prototype fabrication and testing in a participatory development context.

Course Goals

• To develop technical solutions for underserved communities
• To practice creative design in a real-world context
• To learn hands-on prototyping and manufacturing skills
• To develop problem solving and critical thinking skills
• To recognize the potential impact of engineers in the world

Teaching Staff

In addition to lead instructors Amy Smith and Kurt Kornbluth, the following people assist as project mentors and teaching assistants:

Allen Armstrong

Stephanie Dalquist

Will DelHagen

Erica Fuchs

Leo Burd

Kate Steel

Matt Orosz

Required Text and Readings

The required text for this class is:

Weisman, Alan. Gaviotas. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1999. ISBN: 9781890132286.

In addition, several articles and readings from other sources will be distributed in class.

Group Meetings and Weekly Updates

The Friday sessions will be largely dedicated to group work and will begin with a brief report to the class on the week's progress. Each group will have three minutes to present and there will be two minutes for feedback from the class. Groups will also need to schedule time for meetings outside of the class session.

Grading

This is a nine-unit class: four hours a week will be spent in class and the remaining five hours will be spent doing the readings and homework and working on the design projects, both individually and in groups. Because much of the work for this seminar will be done during class time, attendance is essential. Students missing a class meeting should contact the instructors to make up the work. Students may not miss more than two classes during the semester. This seminar is graded on a A/B/C/F basis, furthermore it is a class where your work is impacting the lives of people around the world and we expect an appropriate level of commitment.