Spring 2000
Professor Janet Abbate
ja134@umail.umd.edu
2101H Francis Scott Key Hall
405-4285
Office hours: Wednesday 1-3
This class provides an in-depth look at some issues at the intersection of science, technology, and society. We will combine readings, lectures, videos, and discussions to identify the social questions raised by modern research and engineering. We will explore some of the ways science and technology shape--and are shaped by--society, and the types of opportunities and responsibilities we face in deciding how best to use our knowledge and power. Student teams will then apply this type of analysis to a research topic of their own choice. Each team will produce a research paper, create a poster, and present their findings to the class.
The course is divided into units that focus on historical, technical, and social aspects of science and technology. You will receive a detailed plan for each unit one week before the unit begins.
Unit 2: A user's view of science and technology--Engineering design
Unit 3: Current social issues in science and technology--Genetics
* David Nye. Consuming Power. MIT Press, 1998.
* Donald A. Norman. The design of everyday things. Doubleday, 1990.
* Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Wald. Exploding the gene myth. Beacon Press, 1999.
February 14: Meet at library
February 16: Library research assignment handed in
March 1: Midterm
March 6: Part I of project due (history)
March 29: Part II of project due (technical)
April 24: Part III of project due (social context)
April 26-May 10: Project presentations in class
May 15: Project papers due
May 22: Take-home final due