Science and Its Social Context
		Dr. Kathryn Russell Philosophy Department 138B Old Main SUNY - Cortland Phone ext. 2014
		Fall Semester 2003 SCI 300-001 (Cortland GE 7 & SUNY GE Social Studies ) Writing intensive

Gibbs, Lois Marie. Dying From Dioxin: A Citizen's Guide to Reclaiming Our Health and Rebuilding Democracy. Boston: South End Press, 1995.

Grinnell, Frederick. The Scientific Attitude. 2nd ed. Boulder: Westview Press, 1992.

Kleinman, Daniel Lee. Science, Technology and Democracy. SUNY Press, 2000.

McGee, Glenn, ed. The Human Cloning Debate, 3rd ed. Berkeley: Berkeley Hills Books, 2002.

This interdisciplinary course is designed to encourage students to think carefully about the role science plays in the intellectual and practical life of society and about how social factors outside science affect the activity of scientists.

SCI 300 satisfies requirements for the Social Science Requirement in the SUNY GE Program and Category 7 in Cortland College's General Education program.

The 2000-2001 Catalog describes GE 7 as follows:

The goal of this category is to enable students to consider decisions in the context of the complex relations which exist within the natural sciences, mathematics, technology and human affairs in which they were developed. Assumptions:

1. It is important to know how science and technology influence human affairs and give rise to questions of choice.
2. It is important to know how the social milieu influences human decisions.
3. It is important to reflect critically on questins of value as they influence social decisions in order to encourage independent judgment and rational processes of thought.

1. Students will explore ways in which value judgments are justified and the way interpretation of technical information can lead to different judgements AND/OR
2. Students will explore the major scientific or mathematical theories which have had an impact on the modern world and the significance of the social context in which they were developed.

SCI 300 also satisfies requirements for a Writing Intensive course. Please view our work with writing as an opportunity, not a burden. Judith Langer and Arthur Applebee argue convincingly that writing enables students to learn material more thoroughly by encouraging their active engagement with course content. (How Writing Shapes Teaching: A Study of Teaching and Learning. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1987).Aside from this educational value, learning to write effectively will surely benefit you vocationally since most employers state they need graduates who write well and are able to think critically.

Though some concrete information about scientific theories will be discussed during the class, emphasis will be placed on more abstract issues, like how scientific advance has influenced our society. Whatever your previous experience or current attitudes, I hope this class enables you to feel more knowledgeable about science and more comfortable with taking part in debates about scientific activity and the role science will play in your own life. This, after all, should be the basic goal of General Education, Category 7.

Policies:

1. You are expected to attend every class session and actively participate in discussion. Excessive absence will lower your grade.
2. NO assignments handed in late will be accepted unless PRIOR arrangements are made with me.
3. Plagiarism: All work submitted must be your own. Ideas borrowed from others must be documented. Academic dishonesty will be punished according to college policy.
4. SUNY Cortland is committed to upholding and maintaining all aspects of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
   If you are a student with a disability and wish to request accommodations, please contact the Office of Disability Services located in B-40 Van Hoesen Hall or call (607) 753-2066 for an appointment. Any information regarding your disability will remain confidential. Because many accommodations require early planning, requests for accommodations should be made as early as possible. Any requests for accommodations will be reviewed in a timely manner to determine their appropriateness to this setting.

Course requirements:

• In class essays and homework -15%
• Participation - 5 %
• Take home exam on Grinnell - 20 %
• Toxic Waste – Your group project and your individual essay will count as one grade - 20 %
• Take home exam on Science and Democracy - 20 %
• Take home exam on Cloning - 20%