Undergraduate Course: Science and Society 1A (SCSU08001)
Course Outline
| School |
School of Social and Political Science |
College |
College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 08 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Credits |
20 |
| Home subject area |
Science Studies Unit |
Other subject area |
Environmental Courses |
| Course website |
None |
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|
| Course description |
This course considers the social nature of science and scientific knowledge, as well as the relationship between science and wider society. In Unit 1 (Science Dissected), we will systematically explore important elements of scientific practice - for instance, observation, experimentation, theories, training, and negotiation - and discern their fundamentally social character. In Unit 2 (Science Contextualized), we will study the place of science in relation to, and as a central tool in shaping other major social phenomena. Topics here include: Science and Gender; Science and Law; Science and Health; Science and Environment; Scientific Expertise in Society. We will study science internally and externally using a variety of readings, including historical and sociological case studies from physics, biology, and chemistry. The course will be intelligible to students of any disciplinary background. |
Entry Requirements
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites |
|
| Prohibited Combinations |
|
Other requirements |
None
|
| Additional Costs |
None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
|
WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | | 1-11 | 17:10 - 18:00 | | | | | | Central | Lecture | | 1-11 | | | | 17:10 - 18:00 | | | Central | Lecture | | 1-11 | | 17:10 - 18:00 | | | |
| First Class |
Week 1, Monday, 17:10 - 18:00, Zone: Central. David Hume Tower Lecture Theatre B |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who have completed the course successfully should be able to:
1. Dispel the conventional picture of science as pure and immune from society, and of scientific knowledge as objective truth. Replace this picture with a more nuanced and empirically-accurate understanding of science, scientists, and scientific knowledge.
2. Appreciate and understand the complexities of scientific practice, and analyse the many links that join them.
3. Understand and make use of the basic tools of the sociology of science and scientific knowledge. Grasp the central tenet that science is a social institution, and apply this comprehension in exploring the work of scientists.
4. Describe the position of science as part of wider society, and account for the development of scientific knowledge in relation to other major social phenomena. Also, discuss the behaviour of scientists, politicians, and other stakeholders based on such social factors.
|
Assessment Information
| Assessed by a short assessment approx. midway through the course (for up to 30% of the overall mark); and a long 2,000 word essay, submitted via WebCT to a deadline date, for the remaining possible 70% of the overall mark. In order to pass the course, the long essay must be passed. |
| Please see Visiting Student Prospectus website for Visiting Student Assessment information |
Special Arrangements
| Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
Dr Ivan Crozier
Tel: (0131 6)51 1220
Email: ivan.crozier@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
Mr Chris Harper
Tel: (0131 6)51 1306
Email: Chris.Harper@ed.ac.uk |
|
copyright 2010 The University of Edinburgh -
1 September 2010 6:41 am
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