home

 ** __The Cultures of Scientific Revolutions__ ** IHSS 1310 Fall 2016 Meets: Monday, Thursday 10-11:50 a.m., Academy Hall Lecture Hall Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute __Instructor__ Professor Mike Fortun fortum@rpi.edu Office: Sage 5112 Office hours: M 12-2; R 4-5 or by appointment __Graduate Teaching Assistant__ Colin Garvey garvec @ rpi. edu Office: Sage 5703 Office hours: T 12-2; R 12-2 & by appointment This syllabus is subject to change; you should always consult the most recent version on the RPI LMS Blackboard site, [|http://lms9.rpi.edu] (RCS ID and password needed). ** __Course Overview__ ** How are the sciences both different from, and similar to, other human endeavors to understand and change the world around us? What kind of truths do the sciences produce, and how? What are the different roles played by new data, new technologies, new concepts, and new social orders in scientific change and development? What kind of a person is a scientist, and how does that change with time and place? How do the sciences interact with other parts of our culture, like politics, literature, and religion? Students in this course will develop an understanding of science as a human activity, one that is in a dynamic give-and-take with the rest of the culture. We’ll do this through a collaborative exploration of some of the most dramatic and important “revolutions” in the sciences in different cultural circumstances: the Scientific Revolution of the 16th-18th centuries, the development of Darwinian evolutionary theory and its lasting social impacts, the demise of determinism and absolute space-time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Manhattan Project and the re-organization of American science after World War II, and the contemporary sciences linking human activities with planetary changes. We will develop our understanding of science in cultural context through a number of different lenses: historical documents; fiction and drama; the analyses of historians, philosophers, and other scholars; and the writings and reflections of scientists themselves. In addition, we will explore the relevance of these historical developments to contemporary events and issues. Spread throughout the course and in a few more focused "Meta-Interludes," we address questions like: Are science and religion always in conflict? How d oes gender make a difference in or to science? What are the relationships between scientists, states, and corporations? What kind of political, social, and cultural authority do – or //should// -- scientists and sciences have in particular historical contexts? ** __Learning Outcomes__ ** By the end of this course, students will be able to  ** __Course Requirements and Grading__ ** Attendance in class is not formally recorded, but I expect you to be here for every class session (and as described below, there is generally a quiz every Thursday). If you need to miss class because of an athletic or other institutional event, bring in a note and we will make arrangements for any course requirements. If you are absent because of illness or injury you will need to notify us by email so that we can make alternative arrangements for taking a quiz or for other assignments; you will also need a note from the health center. Your final grade will be determined as a combination of class attendance; annotations of readings and/or films; and in-class quizzes. These are described more fully below. There is no final exam. If you are fully present in mind and body at plenary sessions, and engage actively with the course materials, you should do well in the class. You final grade will be based on points accumulated through assignments and exams, based on a straight grading scale, i.e.: A: 94-100; A-:90-93; B+:86-89; B:82-85; B-:79-81; C+:76-78: C:72-75; C-:69-71; D 60-69 ** __Grade Percentage Breakdown:__ ** 30% - Three annotations of articles or films 30% - "Homework" via Online Forums 40% - 8 in-class quizzes __** Three reading and/or film annotations (30%) **:__ Over the course of the semester, you will annotate ANY COMBINATION OF ANY THREE readings or films that are marked with an *A*. __** Only **__ these readings and films are eligible for annotation. These will be graded on a scale from 1-10 points. Credit received will depend on complete coverage of the annotation questions, use of concrete examples from the reading or film to illustrate points, and careful writing. Annotations can be in essay form, or you can answer each question separately; either way, your annotation should be in complete sentences and/or paragraphs. It should be clear that you have moved beyond notes to some level of synthesis and analysis. Each annotation should be about 1000 words long; please indicate the word count at the top. These should be submitted to the LMS Blackboard site (further instructions will be provided). The questions to be covered are as follows: 1. Title, author/director, and year? 2. What is the central argument or narrative of the reading or film? 3. What argument is the reading or film making about the development of science, changes in how science was done, or about the social effects or context of science? 4. What parts of the reading or film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why? 5. What parts of the reading or film were you not compelled or convinced by, or confused by? 6. Provide at least three quotes, or close paraphrases from a film, that are indicative of its main themes, concepts, or arguments. 7. What new question did this reading or film raise for you? (If you can then suggest how it might be answered, or actually find an answer for it and provide a reference, all the better. But the important thing is to FORMULATE THE QUESTION.) ANNOTATIONS OF READINGS ARE DUE BY THURSDAY OF THE WEEK FOR WHICH THAT READING IS ASSIGNED. ANNOTATIONS OF FILMS ARE DUE THE CLASS SESSION IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE SCREENING OF THE FILM. LATE ANNOTATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. You MUST complete your first annotation by Sept 29th, a second MUST be completed by Oct 27th, and your third and last annotation MUST be completed by Dec. 5th. Annotations should be submitted to the LMS Blackboard site (further instructions will be provided). Here is a model annotation, written for a different class that should give you a good idea of how to reach the top end of the scale. More information about annotations will be provided as the course progresses. __** Homework via Online Forums (30% **)__ : Think of these as essentially notes and reflections on ANY of the course readings and lectures, or as a kind of minimal, less polished version of an annotation. You are required to complete **14 homework** entries to the online forums; three of these may duplicate your work for an annotation (but must be submitted separately). You will thus need to do about one entry per week, but you may do more. Homework entries are also due the week of the assigned reading or the accompanying lecture and need to be ** submitted by midnight that Thursday **; homework entries on films are ** due by the start of the next class session after the viewing. **There is no penalty for participating in forums beyond the required entries – indeed, it is encouraged, and extra entries could make up for poorer entries. Think of these homework entries as detailed notes you take while reading or listening in class (and scientific research shows that by writing or typing notes while you read or listen, you greatly increase your comprehension). Two good guides for note taking can be found [|here] and [|here] (both of those sites recommend hand-written notes, which are fine; just scan or snap a photo and upload). These entries do not need to be polished, but by being diligent about note taking you will be prepared to do well on the quizzes. Entries will be graded on a scale 0-2, described below: // Please note that your homework entries will be visible to all members of the class (although you will need to post yours first in order to see others). //   //  And please note: we are aware that 14X2=28 potential points for this portion of your grade. You will receive 2 points free as a gift in our final grading at the end of the semester. //   __** Eight in-class quizzes (40%) **:__ These short quizzes (about 10-15 minutes each) are spread throughout the semester as indicated in the syllabus, generally on Thursdays (but Mondays may also be a possibility). ** You should always bring your computer or equivalent device on which to take these online quizzes to class every day. ** They will consist mostly of multiple choice questions, reflecting the main points of the course readings as these have been emphasized and extended in the course lectures. If you engage seriously with the course materials, take notes, and are engaged during class sessions, you should do well on these quizzes. If you have to miss a quiz through an excused absence, you will be given a make-up writing assignment rather than a make-up quiz. ** __Academic Dishonesty Policy__ ** You should read the [|Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities]  so that you understand all the acts that constitute a violation of the Institute’s academic dishonesty policy. Plagiarism is the most frequent violation, sometimes because students are unfamiliar with what constitutes plagiarism. You should read the brief but thorough description found at Indiana University's plagiarism page ( []  ). I have a policy of zero tolerance for plagiarism or any other act of academic dishonesty. If you commit any such act, you will – at minimum – receive an F for that assignment and be subject to RPI’s judicial process. Failure of the entire course is also within my rights as instructor. I also encourage you to visit: **// THE CENTER FOR COMMUNICATION PRACTICES //** **// Lower-Level Folsom Library //** The CCP is a **//free//** resource, provided for all RPI students, faculty, and staff. The Center celebrate its **35th anniversary** this year. Their staff of experienced readers/writers/ speakers can help you re-view any kind of writing and work with you closely on oral presentations. They can serve as another pair of eyes to read your drafts, or as a sounding board to help you brainstorm ideas, organize thoughts, integrate images, or invent solutions to problems in any type of text. The CCP is designed for both confident and less confident communicators. Anyone who wants to make sure that his or her text, PowerPoint, or oral presentation is the best it can be should consider making an appointment or dropping in. Their website is: __www.ccp.rpi.edu__ or you can call 276-8983. ** __Texts__ ** // Free // and //open// inquiry, and the resources necessary for its support, are two important cultural values we have inherited from (among other places) the development of the sciences and their institutions. I am also a personal supporter of Open Access scholarship  like the  Public Library of Science. And fortunately, there are many excellent resources pertinent to the course topics that are available electronically. Therefore there are no required texts to purchase for this class; all readings are available on-line and linked to in the syllabus. ** __Schedule of Topics and Readings:__ ** ** __I. Introduction__ ** ** Week One: What We Think We Know About Science ** __August 29__ - Introduction to the course __September 1__ REQUIRED READING: *A* William McComas, The Principal Elements of the Nature of Science: Dispelling the Myths Entry on Scientific Change at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Read ONLY Sections 1 and 2 and Section 3 through Section 3.a.ii ) ** __II. If There Was a Scientific Revolution, What and When Was It?__ ** ** Week Two: ** **Copernicus in Krakow, <1543** __September 5__ - No class – Labor Day
 * Narrate and analyze the historical events comprising some of the major revolutions in scientific thought, practice, and culture;
 * Critically evaluate the claims made by historians, philosophers, and other analysts (including scientists themselves) about what science is, how and why it changes, and how it relates to other areas of culture;
 * Be able to appreciate and question not only how science affects culture, but how culture affects the practice and theories of science;
 * Develop note-taking and writing skills necessary for success in college.
 * Homework entries graded "2" are usually detailed and substantive (more than 200 words), and exhibit extensive use of concepts, quotes, and/or frameworks from the readings and lecture. These posts are more concerned with summing up a reading, an author’s argument, or the main points of a lecture, and less focused on personal opinion or ungrounded abstractions.
 * Homework entries graded "1" are on topic and relevant to the readings and lectures, but lack detail and show insufficient effort to engage the material in substantive ways, raise questions, or draw out major themes.
 * Homework entries graded "0" consist mostly of opinion, have little or no relevance to assigned readings, lectures, or films.

__September 8__ QUIZ 1 REQUIRED READING: Nicolaus Copernicus, front matter to // __De Revolutionibus__ // __(1543)__ [Foreword by Andreas Osiander, Preface by Nicholas Schonberg, and Copernicus's introductory letter to Pope Paul III] *A* Robert Westman, "Introduction" (read only through page 9) [PDF version] to // The Copernican Question: Prognostication, Skepticism, and Celestial Order //(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011) [electronic resource through RPI library] ** Week Three: Galileo’s Greatest Invention ** __September 12__ REQUIRED READING: Henry Smith Williams, Chapter 14 (Galileo Galilei) of A History of Science Volume 2. Michael Fowler on The Life of Galileo and Galileo and the Telescope [*A* To complete an annotation for this week, compare the two readings above.] Galileo's 1615 letter to Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany *A* Film: // Galileo: Battle for the Heavens // __September 15__ QUIZ 2 REQUIRED READING: Galileo's __ Preface to Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Sys tems ("To the Discerning Reader")__ Doug Linder, The Trial of Galileo Galileo's Defense Galileo's Indictment and Abjuration, 1633 ** Week Four: The Political Science of Permanent Crisis, and S ome New Newtons ** __September 19__ REQUIRED READING: *A* Steven Shapin, excerpts from //The Scientific Revolution// (University of Chicago Press, 1996) __September 22__ QUIZ 3 REQUIRED READING: *A* Stephen Snobelen, "Isaac Newton: His Science and Religion" in //Science, Religion, and Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Controversy //  (2007). (See Snobelen's entire website here: http://www.isaac-newton.org )

** __III. Meta-Interlude: Gender, Brains, Math, and Science__ ** ** Week Five ** __September 26__ REQUIRED READING: Jason Antrosio, "Anthropology, Sex, Gender, Sexuality: Gender is a social construction" Jamie Saxon, "Women seen as lacking natural 'brilliance' may explain underrepresentation in academia"

Emily Willingham, "Academic science is sexist: we do have a problem here"


 * A* Joel, Daphna. “Male or Female? Brains Are Intersex.” //Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience // 5 (September 20, 2011). doi :10.3389/ fnint .2011.00057.

__September 29__ Your first annotation MUST be completed and submitted to LMS/Blackboard by today. REQUIRED READING: *A* O’Connor, Cliodhna, and Helene Joffe. “ Gender on the Brain: A Case Study of Science Communication in the New Media Environment.” //PLOS ONE// 9, no. 10 (October 29, 2014): e110830. doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0110830. *A* Rippon, Gina, Rebecca Jordan-Young, Anelis Kaiser, and Cordelia Fine. “Recommendations for Sex/gender Neuroimaging Research: Key Principles and Implications for Research Design, Analysis, and Interpretation.” // Frontiers in Human Neuroscience // 8 (2014): 650. doi :10.3389/ fnhum .2014.00650.

Optional further readings: Vidal, Catherine. “The Sexed Brain: Between Science and Ideology.” // Neuroethics // 5, no. 3 (December 2012): 295–303. doi : http :// dx. doi. org. libproxy. rpi. edu /10.1007/s12152-011-9121-9.

Steven Pinker and Elizabeth Spelke debate "The Science of Gender and Science" __http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/debate05/debate05_index.html__ Including their slides: Pinker's : __http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/debate05/pinker.slides.html__ ; Spelke's : __http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/debate05/spelke.slides.html__ )   Responses to the debate, and Pinker's response to the responses: __http://www.edge.org/discourse/science-gender.html__    https ://twitter.com/ hashtag / shirtstorm    https ://twitter.com/ hashtag / gamergate

** __IV. Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design__ ** ** Week Six: Darwin Writes a Book ** __October 3__ Film: Evolution *A* REQUIRED READING: *A* Keith Thomson, "1798: Darwin and Malthus," // American Scientist // 86:3 (May-June 1998):226ff. __October 6__ QUIZ 4 REQUIRED READING: 1. Douglas O. Linder, The Scopes Trial: An Introduction and __ "A Final Word." __ ** __Week Seven__ ** __October 11 (NOTE TUESDAY MEETING!!!)__ Film: Judgment Day *A* REQUIRED READING: Interview with Kenneth Miller, "In Defense of Evolution" Statements of the Dover School Board and Dover teachers __October 13__ QUIZ 5 REQUIRED READING: Kenneth Miller, "Finding Darwin's God" *A* To complete an annotation for this week, annotate both articles below: Kenneth Miller, "Does science make belief in God obsolete? Of course not." Christopher Hitchens, "Does science make belief in God obsolete? No, but it should." ** __V. How We Became Inhuman__ ** ** Week Eight: Picasso and Einstein Walk Into a Bar… ** __October 17__ REQUIRED READING: ** *A  ** * Max Weber, Science as Vocation *A* A conversation with Peter Galison

Further optional readings: Michael Fowler on the photoelectric effect Michael Fowler on Michelson-Morley Michael Fowler on relativity 1

Time magazine, Person of the Century

__October 20__ QUIZ 6 REQUIRED READING: *A* Albert Einstein, __ "Why Socialism? "__ Einstein as Public Figure Einstein as Public Figure 2 Einstein as Public Figure 3 (October 21: Last day to drop a class) ** Week Nine: Gone Quantum: Chance and Indeterminism ** __October 24__ REQUIRED READING: 1. *A* Cathryn Carson, “The Origins of the Quantum Theory” 2. EXPLORE: __Max-Planck-Society__ 3. SKIM: __Copenhagen Interpretation, at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy__ The second annotation should be completed and submitted to LMS/Blackboard by today. Patrick Heelan, The Discovery of Quantum Mechanics __October 27__ Your second annotation MUST be completed and submitted to LMS/Blackboard by today. Film: Copenhagen *A* REQUIRED READING: 1. __Niels Bohr, "Discussion with Albert Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics"__ 2.. __James Glanz, "New Twist on Physicist's Role in Nazi Bomb"__ 3. __Finn Aaserud, "Introductory Comments" to Bohr-Heisenberg letters__ CLICK "DOCUMENTS" AT BOTTOM OF PAGE AND **READ** AT LEAST SEVERAL LETTERS ** __VI. Scientists, Wars, and States__ ** ** Week Ten: The Big One -- And The Bigger One, and the Bigger One... **  __October 31__ : Total War REQUIRED READING: 1. *A* __Einstein-Freud correspondence, 1931-32__ __FreudEinstein.pdf__ __November 3__ : The Day Before Trinity QUIZ 7 REQUIRED READING: __Einstein's letter to Roosevelt, 1939__ __Frisch-Peierls memo, 1940__ __"Tube Alloys" deal, 1944__ __Niels Bohr memo to Roosevelt, 1944__ __Interim Committee Report, June 1944__ __Szilard to Teller, 1945__ __Teller to Szilard, 1945__ __Szilard petition, 1945__ __Franck Report, 1945__ [*A* For an annotation this week, you should annotate all the items above] ** Week Eleven ** __November 7__ Film: The Day After Trinity *A* REQUIRED READING:

__November 10__ Film: The Ultimate Weapon REQUIRED READING: 1. __General Advisory Committee report on H-bomb, 1949__ 2. __President's statement on H-bomb, 1950__ 3. __Oppenheimer's Farewell Speech, Los Alamos, 1945__ 4. __Summary of "In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer"__ 5. __Eisenhower's Farewell Speech, 1961__ ** __VII. Meta-Interlude 2:"What Is Science Again?"__ ** ** Week Twelve ** ** QUIZ 4 ** __November 14__ REQUIRED READING: 1. *A* Jonathan Marks, __“The Anthropology of Science Part 1: Science as a Humanities,”__ and __"The Anthropology of Science Part 2: Scientific Norms and Behaviors"__ __November 17__ : REQUIRED READING: Shapin, Science and the Modern World ** __VIII. Big Data in/of the__ __Anthropocene__ ** ** Week Thirteen ** __November 21__ REQUIRED READING: THANKSGIVING BREAK ** __Week Fourteen__ ** November 28 *A* Naomi Oreskes, [| "My facts are better than your facts: Spreading good news about global warming"] Sara Reardon, "Climate Change Sparks Battles in Classroom," Science 5 August 2011: 688-689. [] .   Hecht, How to make a villain (Carson) December 1 QUIZ 8 ** XII. Recapitulations… ** ** __Week Fifteen__ ** December 5 Your third and final annotation should be completed and submitted to LMS/Blackboard by today. REQUIRED READING: Hecht, How to make a villain (Carson) December 8 LAST CLASS  © 1997-2016 Blackboard Inc. All Rights Reserved. U.S. Patent No. 7,493,396 and 7,558,853. Additional Patents Pending. [|Accessibility information] Installation details