Announcements About this course Speaker's corner Film discussions		Each Friday (starting 10 Oct) will be devoted to a "Speaker's Corner" planned and directed by a team of students. Each team will divide itself into two groups. For the Speaker's corner, each group will present one side of a contemporary controversy in "science and public policy." After these presentations, the entire class will discuss the issues. Over the weekend, everyone not on the presenting team will write a one-page "reflection piece," discussing representations of science in the controversy. These reflection pieces will be distributed electronically to all class members. Individuals of the presenting group will then have one week to write a five-to-six page paper on how contemporary images of science are shaped, supported, and challenged in their case study. Each student will receive a group grade for the presentation as well as an individual grade for their paper. Teams should meet regularly, starting at least two to three weeks in advance of your presentation. The goal is to work cooperatively in all phases: doing research on your topic, discussing among yourselves what you are learning, and what you want to convey to the class, and finally planning the final presentation. Creativity is encouraged! Claudia Henrion will meet with the groups at least twice before the presentations. Feel free to blitz her if you have any questions. The following is a list of topics and a brief description of the two sides embedded in the topic. Most are accompanied by a case study recommendation. These case studies help narrow the focus of the presentation and at the same time highlight critical issues at the heart of the topic. Topics 1. Western Medicine: The Ultimate Healer? Side 1: Modern Western Medicine i.e. the dominant form of treatment one would receive in a doctor's office or a hospital, let's say up through the 1980's is superior to all other form of healing. For any medical problem it has the best approach to healing. Side 2. There are problems with the modern Western approach to medicine. Alternative forms of healing can give important insights that elude traditional western medical practices. Case Study: Should insurance cover alternative forms of healing? And who should make this decision the doctor, the patient, or the insurer? 2. War and Peace Side 1: Science and technology are critical for our safety. For example, the atomic bomb is what enabled us to put an end to war. Science helps ensure peace. Our knowledge is our strength, and best defense. Side 2: Science has caused war to escalate to unprecedented levels. It makes mass destruction more, rather than less, likely. Case Study: The Enola Gay Commemoration at the Smithsonian. 3. Science and the Environment Side 1: Science is the major culprit in the decline of our environment. Air, water and land are all profoundly threatened by so-called progress in science and technology. Side 2: Science is the solution not the problem. Technological development is inevitable, the question is how to do it in a sustainable way. Science can provide the answers for resolving threats to the environment. Case Study: Nuclear Energy Plants: A Step Forward? 4. Science and Objectivity Side 1: Science is the fairest and purest of all forms of knowledge because it is the quintessential example of objectivity. Scientific Knowledge = Truth. Moreover, it's methods insure objectivity. It is blind to factors like sex, race or class. Side 2: Pure objectivity is not possible. Science, like other forms of knowledge, is influenced by social, political and economic factors that influence what comes to be known as truth. Indeed, science, like all social institutions is prone to the prejudices of the larger culture. Moreover, not all people have equal access to science, therefore it does not represent the thinking of the culture at large, but rather the beliefs and priorities of a small subset of that culture. Case Study: Does affirmative action have a place in science? 5. Science and Religion Side 1: Science and religion are mutually exclusive. A scientist is devoted to the search for truth, pure fact. He or she believes only that which can be proven. Spirituality involves faith, rather than reason. It clouds the minds of true scientists. Side 2: Science and Religion are not mutually exclusive. Science can be fed by spiritual beliefs, and spiritual beliefs can be fed by science. Case Study: Does ethics have a place in science? The cloning controversy. 6. Science and the Quality of Life Side 1: Science has dramatically improved our quality of life. We are healthier and happier than we have ever been historically. Side 2: Science leaves us with a morally and spiritually empty vision of life. It robs life of values and meaning. It makes us more distant than ever from the things that make us happy. Case Study: The family farm vs. modern agriculture. 7. Are There Limits to Science? Side 1: Science is unlimited. There is no end to what scientists will be able to discover, no bound to the endless frontier, no topic that science will not eventually be able to explain. Side 2: Science is inherently limited. There are areas that science will never be able to touch, much less find answers to. For example, the realm of emotion (love, despair, hope), or the meaning of life. Moreover most of the great discoveries of science have already been made, what's left is the mop-up stage.