How do scientists establish scientific facts? What is the nature of scientific authority? And just who are these scientists in the first place? If scientists are just like you and me, how do their positions in society, their politics, and their culture shape their scientific work — and how does their work shape society, politics, and culture in return?
This course introduces you to the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS), a methodologically diverse and interdisciplinary approach to understanding connections between the production of knowledge, the innovation of technology, and the conflicting values and demands of social life. Through case studies drawn from historical and contemporary science, you will learn key STS concepts and theories, apply novel methods, and develop skills for ethically navigating your own scientific career.
Honesty and transparency are important features of good scholarship. On the flip side, plagiarism and cheating are serious academic offenses with serious consequences. If you are discovered engaging in either behavior in this course, you will earn a failing grade on the assignment in question, and further disciplinary action may be taken.
Your work should be crafted and written on your own. You may talk with others about your ideas— you may even use the ideas discussed in class seminars—but these ideas must be made your own. That means working by yourself to develop your own ideas, providing your own reasons, and explaining things in your own words.
You are required to cite all sources you use in your submitted coursework. This includes both direct quotations and cases where you use someone else’s ideas. “Sources” include papers, journals, conversations, anything found on the internet, and so on. Basically, if the thought did not originate with you, you should provide an in-text citation and a reference list. For a clear description of what counts as plagiarism, cheating, and/or the use of unauthorized sources, please see the Student Code of Conduct: http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/rules/19.
If you have questions about my integration of the university’s honor code into this course, please do not hesitate to ask: my aim is to foster an environment where you can learn and grow, while ensuring that the work we all do is honest and fair. For more information about Georgia Tech’s standards with respect to academic integrity, you can also check out the following link: http://honor.gatech.edu/
This is a Core IMPACTS course that is part of the Social Sciences area.
Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential knowledge in foundational academic areas. This course will help master course content, and support students’ broad academic and career goals.
This course should direct students toward a broad Orienting Question:
- How do I understand human experiences and connections?
Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcomes:
- Students will effectively analyze the complexity of human behavior, and how historical, economic, political, social or geographic relationships develop, persist or change.
Course content, activities and exercises in this course should help students develop the following Career-Ready Competencies:
- Intercultural Competence
- Perspective-Taking
- Persuasion