BIOLOGY 302
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

1. Catalog Entry

Biology 302. Science, Technology and Society
Two hours lecture (four hours/week for seven weeks) (2).

Biology 302 provides an introduction to science and technology studies emphasizing the nature of science, the process of discovery, the relationship between science and technology, and the interrelationships between science, technology and society.

2. Detailed Description of Content of Course

This course meets an important educational need for students majoring in the Sciences and in some non-scientific disciplines. Scientific and technological issues play an increasingly important role on our daily lives, yet few citizens are aware of the nature of science or technology, how scientific discoveries are made and used, and how science is related to Western culture and social institutions. This course provides the basis for an understanding of science as an intellectual process, an appreciation of the potential benefits form pure and applied sciences, and an understanding of their limitations. Critical thinking, writing, and discussion will be emphasized throughout the course.

Note : the case studies are provided as examples. The actual case studies will vary form year to year.

1. The Nature of Science

• Science as a way of knowing about the natural world
• Science as a social process
• Scientific institutions and their social roles

2. Scientific Discovery

• Assumptions
• Hypothesis formation and testing
• How theories change
• Conflict resolution in science
• Cast Study: Continental Drift
• Cast Study: Discovering the Bacterial Causes of Disease

3. Pure and Applied Science

• The intellectual relationship between science and technology
• The social relationship between science and technology
• Case Study: Bacteriology and Medicine

4. Science Policy and Government Funding of Science

• Case Study: The Origins of the National Science Foundation
• Case Study: Intelligence Testing and Human Equality
• Case Study: Women in Science - Barbara McClintock and Genetics

3. Detailed Description of the Conduct of Course

This course will be run on a modified seminar format. lectures will be presented on occasion, but most of the time will be devoted to discussion and other active learning activities. Students will be expected to write short (1-2 page) reaction papers after each reading assignment. These papers will serve as basis for small groups will report their deliberations to the class for further discussion. Lecture and readings will be used to present problems, positions, and case studies. These will be supplemented, when appropriate, by videotapes. Students will also have the opportunity to initiate or expand topics through a modified "learning cycle" approach.

4. Goals and Objectives of Course

By the end of the course students will be expected to accomplish the following goals:

1. Discuss the historical background of selected issues involving science and technology
2. Identify the major positions taken in these controversies
3. Identify the explicit and implicit assumptions underlying these positions
4. Take a position and defend it against potential criticism
5. Discuss the similarities and differences among historical and contemporary cases involving science and society issues

5. Assessment Measures

Students outcomes will be evaluated though:

1. Pre and post tests of course content
2. Short reaction papers written in response to readings, class discussion
3. Class discussion
4. Journals or other types of informal writing, particularly entries aimed at drawing parallels between historical case studies and issues in the daily news
5. One or more formal papers involving library research

6. Other Course Information

1. Reading List:

• Ziman, An Introduction to Science Studies, 1987.
• Legrand, Drifting Continents and Shifting Theories: The Modern Revolution in Geology and Scientific Change, 1989.
• Keller, A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock, 1983.
• Manning, Black Apollo of Science: The Life of Ernest Everett Just, 1983.

2. Other Sources:

• Starr, The Social Transformation of American Medicine, 1982.
• Latour, Science in Action: How to Follow Scientist and Engineers Through Society, 1987.
• Sheehan, The Enchanted Ring: The Untold Story of Antibiotics, 1982.
• Parascandola, The History of Antibiotics, 1980.
• Selected articles from: Scientific American, Technology and Culture, Journal of the History of Medicine, Isis, Osiris, and Issues in Science and Technology.

7. Review and Approval

DATE ACTION REVIEWED BY
September 2001 Dr. Charles M. Neal, Chair