STS 302- Section 602. Science, Technology and Human Values. Instructor: Nell Kriesberg, Science, Technology and Society Program,

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1 STS 302- Section 602 Science, Technology and Human Values Summer Week Summer Session Online Instructor: Nell Kriesberg, Science, Technology and Society Program, Cell phone: Description of Course This is an introductory course meeting the GER Science, Technology and Society requirement. Our goal is to gain insights and become articulate about complex issues occurring on the interface of science, society and values using a multidisciplinary approach. We will focus, for the majority of the semester, on the dilemma of animal subjects in research as 1) a way to understand the history of biomedical research and 2) as an example of the sort of complex issue that occurs on this interface of science, technology and science. In looking at animals in research, many other topics will come up and we will spend time on human subjects in research as well. Aside from reading two trade non-fiction books by well known science journalists, we will also read science fiction for added insight. The format of this course is a discussion forum based on the readings: thus, this course is basically a reading and thinking course and will demand a lot from you over the summer ten week session in terms of keeping up with the readings and the discussion boards. We will have 3 discussion boards a week, each with a long two day window. Most of your grade will be for your discussion board work, so your effort will pay off. If you like to think about complex topics in the real world, this will be a good class for you. This course is also good for students planning to enter a scientific field, and for those who either care a lot about animals or plan on working with them professionally some day.

2 The Course is divided into 4 units,:unit1: Introduction to Science and Values; Unit 2: Vulnerable Populations in Biomedical research; Unit 3: Primates and The Moral Community; Unit 4: Staying Human in a Technological World. There are no quizzes or tests, just your 3 Discussion Boards a week and in lieu of a final exam, a final essay which is due Wed Aug 11. Course Objectives Students will acquire a basic understanding of the scientific method and study both the historical antecedents of and some current concerns in biomedical research; Students will investigate how the interactions between science and society illuminate decision making and power differentials in the historical past and in contemporary society; Students will increase in their ability to understand differing viewpoints on complex issues involving science and society as well as increasing in their ability to be articulate about the many difficult ethical questions facing us today; Students will increase their ability to think outside the box in thinking about issues on the interface of science, society and values. Required Books 1. Rudacille, Deborah, The Scalpel and the Butterfly, University of California Press, 2000, $ Blum, Deborah, The Monkey Wars, Oxford University Press,1998, $ Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? DelRey/Ballantine, 1968, $13.00 These are all paperback books and there should be used copies in university bookstores, the campus store and the two stores on Hillsborough. Get your books the first week or two of the semester since the stores return unsold books by the middle of the semester. There is a copy of Rudacille and of Blum available for a 2 hour print reserve at the DH Hill Library Reserve Desk. We will also be reading several short stories that are posted as electronic course reserves, via the DH Hill Library Course Reserves System. These readings will be noted as ER: the number refers to the number of the reading in the long list of available readings for this course, note that the

3 readings are listed in alphabetic order as per title. Sometimes the numbers shift if I place new readings on reserve so if the numbers are not exactly correct, look for the title. Because I have taught many versions of this course there are a lot of electronic reserve readings, we will only be reading a few of them. Final Essay 15 points: Due Friday, May 7th at midnight: I will post an instruction sheet for this essay as we begin the last Unit of this class: this paper is to focus on issues in this last unit, Staying Human in a Technological World. You will be writing about the final reading in our course, the novella Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and on your own time seeing the movies Blade Runner and A.I. as well as the other readings in this Unit. There are 3 copies of each movie at the DH Hill Media Center, go to the Main Circulation Desk to take out the movies. They can be rented for about 3 hours, must stay in the building, the Media Center has DVD players so you can view them in the library. Obviously you can also rent them at any video rental outlet. Grades A: (100-90) B: (89-80) C: (79-70) D (69-65) F (anything below 65) I do give +/- grades, but I do not give out A+. Clearly, your work on the Discussion Boards is major: although each Board does not count terribly much, the points do add up. See the Announcements for more details on what I am looking for in the Boards and the grading rubric. University policies on academic integrity It is expected that all students will follow the established policies on academic integrity, thus I expect your discussion postings to be your own work, if you do quote from a resource, the book or an online posting, be sure to cite your resource correctly. In the final essay, again, be sure to quote correctly and be clear in your citations. Any assignment that is not your original work will automatically be graded as 0. Please feel free to see me to talk about any specific concerns you have about this course or to talk over your progress. M 5/24 W 5/26 Unit 1: F 5/28

4 Wk 1 Orientation to Course: Moodle Tutorial, Review Syllabus, Announcements. The Cold Equations (ER#19) The Newest Profession Unit 1: Science and Values Fletcher Wk 2 M 5/31 Memorial Day No Class AM-Thu midnight W 6/2 Rudacille Intro AM Fri midnight. F 6/4 Rudacille Ch 1 AM Thu midnight AM Fri midnight. M 6/7 W 6/9 F 6/11 Wk 3 Rudacille Ch 2 The Moral Status of Animals Rudacille Ch 3 AM Thu midnight. AM Fri midnight.

5 M 6/14 W 6/16 F 6/18 Wk 4 Unit 2: Vulnerable Populations in Medical Research Jones Chs 1, 3 The Belmont Report Abuses Veterans in Cancer Research Rudacille Ch 5 M 6/21 AM Thurs midnight W 6/23 AM Fri midnight F 6/25 Wk 5 Rudacille Ch 6 Bones in Contention Rudacille Ch 8 AM Thurs midnight AM Fri midnight M 6/28 W 6/30 F 7/2 BREAK M 7/5 NO CLASSES W 7/7 ALL WEEK F 7/9 Wk 6 NO CLASSES Blum Ch 1 Blum Ch 2 M 7/12 W 7/14 F 7/16 Wk 7 Blum Ch 3 Blum Ch 4 Blum Ch 5 M 7/19 W 7/21 F 7/23 Wk 8 Blum Ch 6 Blum Ch 8 Blum Ch 9

6 Wk 9 M 7/26 W 7/28 F 7/30 Rudacille Ch 9 The Gift Caught in the Organ Draft Runaround La Machina Learning to be Me Wk 10 M 8/2 W 8/4 F 8/6 M 8/9 Wk 11 Last Day of class W 8/11 essay due

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