This class will provide an introduction to the cultural study of science and technology. We will examine how social and cultural norms condition the shape, focus, and effects of scientific and technological research and development and, conversely, how science and technology impact social and cultural norms. Our premise will be that the sciences do not exist independently of the societies within which they are situated, and they often reflect the "common sense" of those societies. For example, we know a lot about James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, who received a Nobel Prize for their model of the DNA double-helix, but we know almost nothing about Rosalind Franklin whose x-ray photos gave Watson the idea. Why? Why, in the 1920s and 30s, were black men sacrificed in medical experiments to discover the disease progression of syphilis while their white counterparts were given treatment? Why is cloning framed as a religious issue in the US? How does the political debate about Global Warming affect environmental research? And so on. If you are interested in learning about how the sciences influence society and vice versa, then this is the class for you! Evaluation for the course will consist of 10 on-line discussion postings, two short review essays (2-3 pp), a midterm exam, and a group research project. 

The following books are available at the OSUT bookstore. They will be complemented by a selection of readings available in the "Course Materials" Folder of Blackboard (http://blackboard.okstate.edu)

• Daniel Botkin, Discordant Harmonies
• Sherry Turkle, Life on Screen

Attendance and Participation: Students are expected to attend every class and participate actively in class discussions, both real and virtual. Participation determines borderline grades and eligibility for extra credit! 

On-Line Discussion Postings: Over the 15 weeks of this course, you must post 10 brief responses to comprehension questions about the assigned readings. You may decide which 10 assignments to respond to out of the 15 available, but you may submit only one response per week. The questions will be posted in the "DISCUSSION BOARD" section of the Blackboard (http://blackboard.okstate.edu), and your responses should also be posted there (do not email them to me or submit them in hard copy). These assignments will always be due Monday at 4:30 p.m. (i.e. before class). There will be no late postings accepted. Each assignment will be worth ten points, and together they will comprise 10% of your course grade. These are easy points so don't forget about them! Students with excellent attendance (1 absence or less) may earn up to 20 extra credit points by posting two additional messages (though you still may submit only one response per week).

Article/Book Reviews: You will be required to write a review essay analyzing EITHER two articles from a popular science column/journal OR one mass market science book. The goal here is to consider the ways that scientific developments are reported to the public and how public interest, in turn, shapes scientific research agendas. Full details of the assignment, plus a list of possible journals and/or books for review, can be found in the ASSIGNMENTS section of Blackboard. Reports may be submitted any time BEFORE 11/20. The reviews will be worth 300 points total  (150 each for article reviews or 300 for a book review). It will comprise 30% of your course grade.

Midterm Exam: The exam will consist of identifications, short-answer responses, and/or essay questions and will cover the course readings, lectures, and discussions in equal measure. Check the course schedule to determine the exam date. There will be a study guide offered for the exam. Make-up exams will be given only in cases of documented emergency and only if I am notified of said emergency well before the scheduled date and time of the exam. If you contact me after you miss the exam, I will be unable to help you, and you will receive a grade of zero. The exam will be worth 300 points, and will comprise 30% of your course grade.

Research Project: In groups of 3-4 students, you will undertake an interconnected research project focused around an issue related to one of the course units. Together, the group will identify a topic susceptible to examination from a variety of angles. You will write a short proposal outlining the focus and identifying viable sub-projects within the larger project. Each member of the group will then research and write a separate component of the project (equivalent to 5-7 pp. of written text) and receive a separate grade for this work. A short (2-3 pp) introductory essay will be written collectively and will explain how each of the projects relates to the others. Detailed instructions can be found in the ASSIGNMENTS folder of Blackboard. The project will be worth 300 points and will comprise 30% of your course grade. Two-thirds of your grade (or 200 pts) will be individualized while one-third (or 100 points) will be given collectively to all group members for the proposal (50 pts.) and introduction (50 pts).

Academic Honesty: All work you turn in for this class must be your own work. The unacknowledged use of another's materials (either words or ideas and including virtual discussions and web pages) is called plagiarism. We will discuss how to avoid plagiarism, including the proper citation of source materials. Unintentional or accidental plagiarism will result in a failing grade on that assignment. Intentional plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course and possible referral to the Dean's office for disciplinary action. Consult OSU's Academic Integrity Statement for more information.

Discussion Board

10%

Book/Article Reviews

30%

Mid-Term Exam

30 %

Research Project

30%

Total

100%

Introduction to Science Studies  

Optional Reading: *Sharon Traweek. "An Introduction To Cultural And Social Studies Of Sciences And Technologies"

Francis Collins, A Language of God on NPR's Diane Rehm Show (7/25/06) (Windows Media Player)

8/28

Doing Science: Objectivity, Paradigms, and Normal Science

*Committee on the Conduct of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences. "On Being a Scientist"
*Helen Longino. "Objectivity, Criticism and Social Knowledge"
*Thomas Kuhn, "The Route to Normal Science" & "Revolutions as Changes of Worldview"
*Paul Feyerabend, From Against Method

9/4

Labor Day--Class Cancelled

9/11

Laboratories and Scientists: Science and/as Society

Read:

*Aimee Sands, "Never Meant to Survive: A Black Woman's Journey - An Interview with Evelyn Hammonds"
*Robert Kohler, "Moral Economy, Material Culture, and Community in Drosophila Genetics"
*Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, "Constraints on Excellence"

Case Study: "The Larry Summers Hypothesis"

Larry Summers, Remarks at NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce
Harvard Researchers Debate Gender and Science
*Ben A. Barres, "Does Gender Matter?" Nature 442 (13 July 2006

9/18

Sex, Gender and Biology

Read:

*Carole Tavris, From The Mismeasure of Woman
*Suzanne Kessler, "The Medical Construction of Gender: Case Management of Intersexed Infants."
*Anne Fausto-Sterling, "Homosexual Brains"

Case Study: Early Debates on Gender in the Natural Sciences

*Charles Darwin, "Sexual Selection in Relation to Man"
*Eliza Gamble, "The Supremacy of the Male"

9/25

Race and Biology

*Gloria A. Marshall, "Racial Classifications: Popular and Scientific"
*Ronald T. Takaki, "Aesculapius Was a White Man: Race and the Cult of True Womanhood."
*Stephen J. Gould, "American Polygeny and Craniotomy Before Darwin"
*James Jones, "The Tuskegee Syphillis Experiment."

Mapping the Human Body: Immunology and Genetics

*Emily Martin, "Toward an Anthropology of Immunology"
*Jeremy Rifkin, "Eugenics"
*Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Wald, "Of Genes and People"

Optional Reading: *Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Wald, "A Brief Look at Genetics

10/9

Fall Break, CLASS MEETS 10/11 INSTEAD!

Read:

Daniel Botkin, Discordant Harmonies. Chaps. 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 (pp. 15-26 & 51-112)

10/23

Daniel Botkin, Discordant Harmonies. Chaps. 8, 9 & 12 (pp. 113-132 & 185-192)

Due: Research Projects Proposal

10/30

Global Warming: The Controversy

Read:

Daniel Botkin, Discordant Harmonies. Chap. 11 (pp. 171-184)
*Michael Crichton, Selections from State of Fear
*Sharon Beder,"Corporate hijacking of the greenhouse debate."

Case Study: The Politics of Environmental Management

Bush Administration "Climate Change Fact Sheet"
John H. Adams, NRDC Pres., "An Open Letter to President Bush"
Senator Jim Inhoff, "Floor Speech on Climate Change"
*Evangelical Environmental Network, "Global Warming Briefing" & "Call to Action"
*Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, "Open Letter to National Evangelical Assoc."

11/6

Social/Political Policy and the Environment: Some Issues

Sharon Dunwoody, "What's a Journalist to Do? Challenges & Approaches to Reporting Scientific Assessment"
"Journals feel pressure to adopt disclosure rules," Environmental Science & Tech. Online
*"Fall of the Wild," National Geographic

Case Study: Sustainable Development

*William McDonough & Michael Braungart, from Cradle to Cradle (27-44 and 123-124)
"Manufacturers Are Seeing Bottom-Line Benefits Of Designing For The Environment"
"Ford overhauls historic factory to be green"

Turkle, Life on Screen "Introduction" + Section 1 (pp. 9-76)

Turkle, Life on Screen Section 2 (pp. 77-176)

Due: Review Essays (Final date; you are encouraged to submit earlier)

Turkle, Life on Screen Section 3 (pp. 177-270)

Imagining a Posthuman Future

*Philip Elmer-Dewitt, "Cyberpunk" 

Case Study: Cyberpunk Fiction

*Maureen Mchugh, "Coney Island Of The Mind"
*Cadigan, Pat. "Pretty Boy Crossover." 
*Tiptree, Jr. James. "The Girl Who was Plugged In."