Syllabus
Liberal Studies 2213-067: Science, Technology, and Society
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00-12:20 in McEniry 150
Instructor: Dr. Peter Thorsheim
Office: 136 Garinger; tel. (704)687-4874
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9-11, and by appointment
E-mail: pthorshe@uncc.edu (do not use for submitting assignments)
History Dept. Webpage: www.uncc.edu/colleges/arts_and_sciences/history/
Popular Mechanics (1950)
This course is designed to stimulate reflection and discussion about the ways in which science and technology affect society and the ways in which social and political forces shape the development of science and technology-both now and in the past. Throughout the course we will explore why particular technologies have affected some people very differently than others, the political and intellectual controversies that science and technology have generated, and debates about the future of science and technology. Topics will include energy and power; weapons research, development, and use; environmental pollution; debates about the truth of scientific knowledge; the impact of the World Wide Web; and conflicts over intellectual property.
Expectations
I expect you to complete each day's assigned reading before class, arrive on time and stay for the entire class, and abide by the UNCC Code of Student Academic Integrity: http://www.uncc.edu/policystate/ps-105.html. Plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty will result in an F in this course and possible additional penalties. If you have special needs that need accommodation, it is your responsibility to discuss them with me as soon as possible. If you arrive late or leave early without advance permission, you will be considered absent. If you have five unexcused absences, your course grade will drop by a full letter grade. If you have ten unexcused absences, you will fail this course. Please keep cellphones and pagers turned off while you are in class. The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus during the course of the semester and announce them in class.
Grading (A = 90 to 100%; B = 80 to 89%; C = 70 to 79%; D = 60 to 69%; F= 0 to 59%)
Class Discussion: 10%
Reading Quizzes: 15%
Exam 1: 15%
Exam 2: 15 %
Journal: 20%
Final Exam: 25%
Exams: All assigned readings and class activities are fair game. Exams will be closed book, multiple option, and must be written in blue books (available for purchase in the bookstore). They will consist of short questions that ask you to identify a term, event, or person and explain its significance and longer essay-style questions that ask you to analyze ideas from readings and class activities.
Journal: Four times during the semester (at least twice before spring break) you will turn in a typed, double-spaced reflection (approximately 2 pages long) on that day's reading. Although entries should connect directly with a specific reading assignment, their purpose is not to summarize it. Instead, you should use each journal entry to respond to the reading, ponder questions that it raises for you, or relate it to previous classes or readings. Journal entries should be turned it in at the start of class on the day the reading you discuss is listed on the syllabus. Late entries will not receive credit.
Required Books
Hacking, Ian. The Social Construction of What? Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 2000. ISBN: 0674004124. $19.95.
Lessig, Lawrence. The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World . New York : Vintage, 2002. ISBN: 0-375-72644-6. $15.00.
Pool, Robert. Beyond Engineering: How Society Shapes Technology . New York : Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN: 0195129113. $17.95.
Pickstone, John V. Ways of Knowing: A New History of Science, Technology, and Medicine . Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2001. ISBN: 0226667952. $20.00.
Articles on Reserve (R)
Hirshberg, Charles. "My Mother, the Scientist." Popular Science , May 2002, 66-69.
Kolbert, Elizabeth. "Ice Memory: Does a Glacier Hold the Secret of How Civilization Began-and How It May End?" New Yorker , 7 Jan. 2002 , 30-36.
Wilson, Edward O. "The Bottleneck." Scientific American , Feb. 2002, 82-91.
DATE TOPICS and ASSIGNMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Week 1: Read "Ice Memory" (R) and skim Ways of Knowing , 1-31
Jan 13 Course Overview and Expectations
Jan 15 Connections between Present, Past, and Future
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND MEDICINE IN WESTERN HISTORY
Week 2: Read Ways of Knowing , 33-82
Jan 20 Making Sense of the World
Jan 22 Natural History
Week 3: Read Ways of Knowing , 83-134
Jan 27 Industrialization
Jan 29 Models of Nature in the Nineteenth Century
Week 4: Read Ways of Knowing , 135-188
Feb 3 Experimentation
Feb 5 Technology, Imperialism, and War
Week 5: Read Ways of Knowing , 189-225
Feb 10 "Technoscience" and Its Critics
Feb 12 FIRST EXAM
SOCIETY'S INFLUENCE ON TECHNOLOGY
Week 6: Read Beyond Engineering , 3-84 and "My Mother, the Scientist" (R)
Feb 17 Electrification
Feb 19 Splitting the Atom
Week 7: Read Beyond Engineering , 85-148
Feb 24 Technology and Symbolism
Feb 26 Complex Systems
Week 8: Read Beyond Engineering , 149-214
Mar 2 Trade-Offs
Mar 4 Weighing Risk
SPRING BREAK
Mar 9 No Class
Mar 11 No Class
Week 9: Read Beyond Engineering , 215-305 and "Bottleneck" (R)
Mar 16 Disasters
Mar 18 Environmental Problems
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON SCIENCE
Week 10: Read Social Construction , 1-99
Mar 23 Social Constructs
Mar 25 The Science Wars
Week 11: Read Social Construction , 100-162
Mar 30 SECOND EXAM
April 1 Idea and Reality
Week 12: Read Social Construction , 163-223
April 6 The Military-Industrial-Academic Complex
April 8 Science and Meaning
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE INTERNET
Week 13: Read Future of Ideas , 3-99
April 13 Real and Virtual Commons
April 15 The World Wide Web
Week 14: Read Future of Ideas , 103-217
April 20 Ideas as Property
April 22 Fair Use
Week 15: Read Future of Ideas , 218-261
April 27 Control
April 29 Choices
CONCLUSION
Week 16: Read Future of Ideas , 262-268
May 4 Summary and Review
Final Exam: Tuesday, May 11, 12-2 pm