Welcome to CSCI0931

In today's world, it has become increasingly important for researchers in almost every field to be computer and programming literate. Are you?

Whether you know a little bit about programming and are eager to learn more or if you've never programmed before, don't worry, we're here to help. CSCI 0931 is an introductory computer science course specifically developed for concentrators in the humanities and social sciences. Because of this, we'll be focusing on real world applications rather than computer science theory. There are no prerequisites, though some experience with Excel is preferred. Students from all fields are welcome.

Homework 18 November 19, 2009

Homework 18 is up on the Assignments Page.

-Diana
Homework 17 November 17, 2009

Homework 17 is up on the Assignments Page. Details on the formulas that were used in class will be forthcoming.

-Diana
Homework 16 November 12, 2009

Homework 16 is up on the Assignments Page.

-Diana
Homework 15 is up November 10, 2009

Onwards, to the assignments page!

-Lyla
Homework 14 November 5, 2009

Homework 14 is up on the Assignments Page.

-Diana
Homework for Tuesday October 29, 2009

The homework for Tuesday is to finish problem five on the lab and to send in your project proposals for the final part of this module. Good luck! And please feel free to come talk to us on hours.

-Diana
Homework, Lab 4, Question 12 October 22, 2009

Go to the assignments page for more info. Also, solutions to the phonebook problem are posted on both the class six web page and the assignments page.

-Lyla
Homework is up! October 22, 2009

Homework 11 is waiting for you at the usual place (assignments).

-Lyla
Homework 10 is finishing lab work October 20, 2009

For Homework 10, please finish up the rest of in-class lab. Go to the assignments page to get started!

-Lyla
Homework 9 October 13, 2009

Homework 9 is up on the Assignments page.

-Diana
Homework 7 October 1, 2009

Homework 7 is up on the Assignments page. Remember that the prelim is due on Oct. 3, while the final handin is due on Oct. 8.

-Diana
Homework 6 is ready September 29, 2009

Homework 6 is now out. What are you waiting for? Go to the assignments page.

-Lyla
Homework 5 is up September 24, 2009

Homework 5 has been posted on the assignments page. Go get em tiger!

-Lyla
Homework 4 is up September 22, 2009

Homework 4 has been posted on the assignments page! It should be short and sweet. Oh so sweet. Come to hours if you have problems!

-Lyla
Homework 3 September 17, 2009

Homework 3 is up on the Assignments page.

-Diana
TA Hours, Class Slides, Collaboration Policy and New Classroom September 15, 2009

TA hours are up on the Staff page, and the slides from today's class are up on the Class 1 page.

Get us your collaboration policies as soon as possible. You cannot pass the course without giving us this document.

The class will be moving back downstairs to CIT 167 on Thursday, and students will be receiving accounts to use the machines. Please send the TAs your Brown AuthIDs with the subject line "AuthID: YourAuthIDHere" as soon as possible.

-Diana
Homework 2 September 15, 2009

Homework 2 is now up on the Assignments page.

-Diana
Homeworks Due at 10:25am September 4, 2009

Unless otherwise noted, from now on, all homeworks will be due at 10:25am (right before class). The reasoning for this is that homeworks often tie directly in to course material. For example, you will need the skills you learn from your second homework (Excel Basics II) to participate in class. Please note that this does not apply to the first homework (Excel Basics, due 9/15). This homework may be turned in by 11:59pm tomorrow. Happy excelling!

-Lyla
First Homework September 10, 2009

Homework 1 is up on the Assignments page. There will be an optional lab on Sunday 3-5pm if anyone would like TA assistance while completing it.

-Diana
First Day of Class September 4, 2009

Hello! This is the Message of the Day. The first class will be held in the CIT (Thomas J. Watson Sr. Center for Information Technology) room 167. It's on the first floor and if you come in the front doors it will be to the far left of the building. Hope to see you there!

-Lyla
General Info

Class Location: First class in CIT room 167 (The MS Lab). All subsequent classes will be held in CIT room 267.
Class Time: I Hour (Tuesday, Thursday 10:30-11:50AM)
CRN: 15476
Professors:

What to Expect

The course will be very hands-on and cover a variety of topics that will ultimately allow you to:
  • Practice solving real world problems by learning to use new tools and applying familiar ones -- like Excel -- in new ways
  • Gather data from the web
  • Learn about and create algorithms that analyze large amounts of data
  • Create web-based interfaces
  • Learn about computer security
  • Become proficient in a scripting language
  • ...take over the world!

Coursework

The expected coursework will be a mixture of homeworks, and projects. The course projects will be drawn from current problems that researchers in the humanities and social sciences are tackling. Examples of such problems are:
  • Analyzing voting blocs in the Senate
  • Establishing and comparing the vocabularies of different authors
  • Creating a web interface to compare elitism at different universities
  • Using data from music CDs and IMDB to develop a "degrees of separation" experiment

While we expect the course to be engaging, this is not your typical computer science course and you won't waste away in the sunlab.

contact webmaster at cs0931tas(at)cs.brown.edu