Schedule, Reading List, & Assignments:
The schedule and assignments are subject to change during the semester. If you rely on a printed version of this schedule, please check back here regularly to make sure you have the most current version.
Last revised: December 2, 2013
| Date | Topic | Reading Assignment (* indicates reading is available on Moodle) | Writing Assignment |
| Tues 8/27 | Introductions | ||
| Thurs 8/29 | Introductions II | 1. Explore the STSWiki 2. Explore Society for Social Studies of Science |
In-class exercise: What is STS, and what do we do with it? |
| Tues 9/3 | Foundations | 1. SEP article on Ludwik Fleck 2. Selections from Mumford, Technics and Civilization (1934)* 3. Selections from Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (1942)* |
Reading Response 1 due: Foundational Ideas |
| Thurs 9/5 | Foundations II | 1. Nye, "Michael Polanyi and the Social Construction of Science" (2011) 2. Shapin, "An Example of the Good Life" (2011) |
|
| Tues 9/10 | Foundations III | 1. Merton, "The Normative Structure of Science" (1942) 2. Mulkay, "Norms and Ideology in Science" (1976)* |
|
| Thurs 9/12 | Revolutions | 1. Selections from Kuhn, Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962)* | |
| Tues 9/17 | Determinism | Essay 1 due: Does Technology Drive History? | |
| Thurs 9/19 | Concerns | 1. Eisenhower, "Farewell Address to the Nation" (1961) (video and text; see also related documents) 2. "The Pest War" (1944-1989)* Optional reading: Sethi, "Information, Education, and Indoctrination" (2012)* |
Reading Response 2 due - see Moodle (Week 4) for instructions |
| Tues 9/24 | Laboratories | 1. Latour, "Give Me A Laboratory and I will Raise the World" (1983) | Submit ideas for STS projects to Moodle Forum |
| Thurs 9/26 | Laboratories II | 1. Galison, "History, Philosophy, and the Central Metaphor" (1988) * | Reading Response 3 due - see Moodle (Week 5) for instructions |
| Tues 10/1 | Systems | 1. Selections from Bijker, Hughes, and Pinch, eds., The Social Construction of Technological Systems (1987) * | |
| Thurs 10/3 | Systems II | 1. Nissenbaum, "How Computer Systems Embody Values" (2001) | Reading Response 4 due |
| Tues 10/8 | Politics | 1. Mumford, "Authoritarian and Democratic Technics" (1964) 2. Winner, "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" (1977) * |
Group Project Subject and Scope statement due |
| Thurs 10/10 | Politics II | 1. Kasson, Civilizing the Machine (1977), pages 3-6 * 2. Carlson, "The Telephone as Political Instrument" (2001) * |
Essay 2 due: Do Artifacts Have Politics? |
| Tues 10/15 | |||
| Thurs 10/17 | Politics III | STS in the News - Groups 1 and 2 | |
| Tues 10/22 | Organizations | 1. Galambos, "Technology, Political Economy, and Professionalization: Central Themes of the Organizational Synthesis" (1983) | Reading Response 5 due |
| Thurs 10/24 | Regulations | STS in the News - Groups 3 and 4
1. Lessig, "The New Chicago School" (1998) * |
|
| Tues 10/29 | Users | 1. Cowan, Introduction to More Work for Mother (1983) * 2. Oudshoorn and Pinch, "How Users and Non-Users Matter" (2003) * 3. Kline, "Resisting Consumer Technology in Rural America" (2003) * |
Reading Response 6 due - see Moodle (week 10) for instructions. |
| Thurs 10/31 | Users II | STS in the News - Groups 5 and 6 | |
| Tues 11/5 | Publics | 1. Review articles in Science's special issue, "Communication in Science: Pressures and Predators" 2. See also AAAS, Communicating Science |
Group Project Progress Report due |
| Thurs 11/7 | Publics II | STS in the News - Groups 7 and 1 | |
| Tues 11/12 | Religions | 1. Listen to NPR story on Amish Community and Technology | Reading Response 7 due |
| Thurs 11/14 | Genders | STS in the News - Groups 2 and 3
1. Selections from Lerman, Oldenziel, and Mohun, eds., Gender and Technology (2003) * |
|
| Tues 11/19 | Races | 1. NPR, Remembering Tuskegee (2002) 2. Margolis and Margolis, A New Tuskegee Experiment? (2013) |
1. Reading Response 8 due
2. Topics due via email for Essay 3, Sports and STS (or a topic of your choice) |
| Thurs 11/21 | Races II | STS in the News - Groups 4 and 5 | Group Project - Final Draft Report due |
| Tues 11/26 | Sports | ||
| Thurs 11/28 | |||
| Tues 12/3 | Neoliberals | 1. Mirowski, Walker, and Abboud, Beyond Denial (2013) | Essay 3 due |
| Thurs 12/5 | Concepts for Final Exam | Final Group Project Report due | |
| Weds 12/11 | Final Exam, 1pm-5pm, Peirce 216 | ||