Department of Regional Economic and Social Development
The Department of Regional Economic and Social Development was formed in 1997. Currently, the department does not grant an undergraduate major, but does offer several undergraduate courses. Many of the graduate courses are also open to advanced undergraduates. Juniors and seniors are eligible to apply for admission into the joint BA/MA degree program in Regional Economic and Social Development. Students must be University of Massachusetts Lowell undergraduates in good standing. Applicants must have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale).
No examination test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination Aptitude Test, GMAT, or any Graduate Achievement tests are required to be included with the application.
Visit the Graduate Catalog for more information on the Master of Arts program.
Technology, Society and Human Values
The department offers an interdisciplinary program that unites development theories with practice by integrating classroom learning and research with regional, national, and international economic and social development projects and research in which the faculty are engaged. Courses are taught in an interdisciplinary manner, with faculty trained in economics, history, planning, political science, psychology and sociology.
The program prepares students to assume professional roles involving research, consulting, and strategic planning in business, in local, state, national, and international development and planning agencies, and in nonprofit organizations working on economic and social development. Students, if they choose to continue their education, will be prepared to continue matriculation in a wide variety of Ph.D. programs in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, including management and public policy.
Technology, Society and Human Values Courses
59.203 Technology and Human Values I
A team-taught course on interrelationship of technology and human values. It explores the industrial revolution in Lowell, followed by an examination of topics drawn from areas such as agriculture, third world development, population control, energy and natural resources, household technology, and transportation. Unifying themes are the values associated with science and technology the role and responsibility of the scientist and technologist, and the question of whether scientific and technological development should be and can be controlled. 3 cr.
59.204 Technology and Human Values II
A continuation of 59.203. 3 cr.
59.214 Nuclear Weapons, Values and Society
Examines popular values and conceptions concerning nuclear weapons, and of the political, diplomatic and economic issues surrounding those weapons. Analyzes the strategic and political interests of the major powers, and alternatives to the nuclear arms race. 3 cr.
59.303 Society and Technology
How safe is safe enough? Who really was Dr. Frankenstein? Was it possible not to create the A-bomb? What do Elvis and Adolph have in common? Learn how viewing the same phenomenon from two different disciplines can enhance decision making capabilities crucial to survival in a technological age. A nuclear engineer and a literary scholar together examine the many value issues involved in understanding the nature of technological risk and its impact on modem society. Focusing on questions of scientific responsibility and social safety, students examine changing attitudes about technology and values, using novels, films, historical accounts, guest lecturers, panel discussions and debates. 3 cr.
59.306 Evolutionary Thought
Considers the impact of Darwin's evolutionary theory on modem biological science, social thought, and literature. 3 cr.
59.309 The Engineer In Society
Examines the role of the engineer in society from an interdisciplinary perspective. How has this role changed? What can be expected for the future? The engineering personality, ethics and engineering, and engineers in industry are covered. The format of the class encourages discussion of the issues. Each student prepares a substantial report on a topic of personal interest. 3 cr.
59.321 Literature on Technology and Human Values
Examines nineteenth and twentieth century Literature to understand the impact of modem technology on the development of ethical values. Possible readings include Atwood, The Handmaids Tale; DeLillo, The Names; Dick, Blade Runner; Hoffman, At Risk; Huxley, Brave New World; and Shelley, Frankenstein. 3 cr.
59.330 Political, Social, and Technological Alternatives
Examines alternatives to the organization and dominant values of Western technological society explores work, political systems. family, and technological change. 3 cr.
59.333 Technology and Gender
Analyzes gender perspectives of technology, focusing on invention, work. values, and new technologies. 3 cr.
59.350 Seminar In Technology and Human Values
Intensive study of selected topics. 3 cr.
59.388 Seminar In Industrial Lowell
An interdisciplinary course on the growth, decline and rebirth of Lowell, MA from its inception as the first planned industrial city to the present. This course complements the establishment of the first Urban National Park in Lowell. 3 cr.
59.395 Computers in Society
Explores the history of computers and their interaction with contemporary society, It begins by looking at the nature of computers and their development from Charles Babbage to the present and continues with a series of specific examples dealing with the possibilities and problems arising from the use of computers in different areas of contemporary life. Examines the use of computer in education, the military, and business. The final section deals with the issues of individual freedom and control Encourages students from many disciplines to examine critically the place 0f this new machine in their lives. 3 cr.
59.420 Project in Technology and Human Values
Student projects involving technology, society and human values. 3 cr.
59.501 Advanced Seminar in Technology and Human Values
Intensive study on the graduate level of selected topics in technology, society and human values. 3 cr.
58.490 Art, Science and Technology
Examines the interrelationship between the visual arts and technological/scientific developments in selected historical frameworks. Demonstrates the close correlation between the artist, society and science/ technology. It suggests how technology responds to the requirements in artistic endeavors, and how the artists awareness, or need for, new technology stimulates revolutionary changes in painting sculpture and architecture. 3 cr.