Science & Society 1A - University of Edinburgh...ABOUT SCIENCE & SOCIETY 1A Science & Society 1A is a free-standing, 20-credit, level-1 course run by Science, Technology and Innovation

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SCIENCE & SOCIETY 1A 2014-15

(Image by Fernan Federici)

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies School of Social and Political Science

College of Humanities and Social Science University of Edinburgh

Old Surgeons’ Hall, High School Yards Edinburgh, EH1 1LZ

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CONTACT DETAILS Course Organiser Professor Steve Yearley, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies,

Old Surgeons’ Hall, High School Yards, Edinburgh EH1 1LZ Office: 2.06 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (0) 131 651 4747 Course Secretary Ms Amelia Hodgson, School of Social and Political Science,

Undergraduate Teaching Office, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LD E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (0) 131 651 3162

• Communication Policy All important information for the class will be announced during the lectures. Information and announcements will also be posted on Learn. In the first instance, please contact the Course Secretary for all administration-related queries and the Course Organiser for all course-content-related queries. Questions of a more personal nature that you might wish to discuss with the Course Organiser should be directed to Steve Yearley after the lectures or using e-mail. The Course Organiser and the Course Secretary will endeavour to respond to queries as soon as possible, but be aware that replies will not be instant. As with your student SMS account, please get into the habit of checking Learn on a regular – and ideally, a daily – basis.

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ABOUT SCIENCE & SOCIETY 1A Science & Society 1A is a free-standing, 20-credit, level-1 course run by Science, Technology and Innovation Studies. It is available to all students studying in the College of Humanities and Social Science and the College of Science and Engineering. • Course Regulations and Procedures Science & Society 1A is run in accordance with the School of Social and Political Sciences’ regulations and procedures. Make sure you consult the Social and Political Sciences Student Handbook, which details these regulations. You can find this document on Learn. • Lecture Times and Place Science and Society 1A runs from Weeks 1-11 during Semester 1. Each week has three lectures. This course has no tutorials. Times: Monday, 09:00-09:50

Tuesday, 09:00-09:50 Thursday, 09:00-09:50

Place: Lecture Theatre 4 Appleton Tower Lecture Theatres • Aims and Objectives This course considers the social nature of science and scientific knowledge, as well as the relationship between science and wider society. In Unit 1 (the anatomy of science), we will systematically explore important elements of scientific practice – for instance, observation, experimentation, theories and replication – and discern their fundamentally social character. In Unit 2 (Science Contextualised), 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 Politics; Science and Environment; Science and the Media; 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. • Intended Learning Outcomes 1. Question the usual picture of science as something separate from society, and of

scientific knowledge as pure, 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.

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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.

• Course Delivery This course is taught by a combination of lectures and self-directed learning based on a list of required and recommended readings. Attending all lectures is essential. The lectures will provide you with a general framework with which to understand the social character of science and its interrelation with other dominant social phenomena. Completing all of the reading is essential. The reading material will provide for a deeper understand of each week’s topic, as well as empirical case studies that underpin the central arguments posited in the class. If you don’t attend the lectures, you will find it difficult to comprehend each reading fully, or grasp the threads that connect the different ideas presented. If you don’t do the readings, you won’t appreciate the lectures in detail, and your understanding of science as social practice will remain superficial. • Assessment Procedures Science & Society 1A will be assessed solely on the basis of two pieces of written work. The first is an essay covering ideas about the making of scientific knowledge (30% of the overall mark). The second is an essay covering the place of science in wider society (70% of the overall mark). For each, one question must be chosen from a list of possible topics. The assessments must represent your own independent work. All sources used must be appropriately acknowledged and all quotations must be properly cited. Treat this requirement will the utmost seriousness: failure to properly acknowledge and cite references amounts to plagiarism. Plagiarism-detection software is employed to facilitate our discovery of inappropriate practices. Consult the documents on essay-writing on Learn for more information.

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WRITTEN ASSESSMENT First Essay (30% of final mark) Deadline: Wednesday, 29 October, 2014, 15:00 The word limit for your first essay will be 1000 words (excluding bibliography). Essays above 1000 words will be penalised using the Ordinary level criterion of 1 mark for every 20 words over length: anything between 1000 and 1020 words will lose one mark, between 1020 and 1040 two marks, and so on. Second Essay (70% of final mark) Deadline: Wednesday, 3 December, 2014, 15:00 The word limit for your first essay will be 2000 words (excluding bibliography). Essays above 2000 words will be penalised using the Ordinary level criterion of 1 mark for every 20 words over length: anything between 2000 and 2020 words will lose one mark, between 2020 and 2040 two marks, and so on. You will not be penalised for submitting work below the word limit for either of these essays. However, you should note that shorter essays are unlikely to achieve the required depth and that this will be reflected in your mark. August Re-Sit: To be determined Course work will be submitted online using our submission system – ELMA. You will not be required to submit a paper copy. Marked course work, grades and feedback will be returned online via ELMA three weeks from the date of the deadline (First Essay: Wednesday 19 November; Second Essay: Monday 5 January) – you will not receive a paper copy of your marked course work or feedback. Coursework is submitted online using our electronic submission system, ELMA. You will not be required to submit a paper copy of your work. Marked coursework, grades and feedback will be returned to you via ELMA. You will not receive a paper copy of your marked course work or feedback. For information, help and advice on submitting coursework and accessing feedback, please see the ELMA wiki at https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/display/SPSITWiki/ELMA. Further detailed guidance on the essay deadline and a link to the wiki and submission page will be available on the course Learn page. The wiki is the primary source of information on how to submit your work correctly and provides advice on approved file formats, uploading cover sheets and how to name your files correctly. When you submit your work electronically, you will be asked to tick a box confirming that your work complies with university regulations on plagiarism. This confirms that the work you have submitted is your own. Occasionally, there can be technical problems with a submission. We request that you monitor your university student email account in the 24 hours following the deadline for submitting your work. If there are any problems with your submission the course secretary will email you at this stage.

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We undertake to return all coursework within the weeks of submission. This time is needed for marking, moderation, second marking and input of results. If there are any unanticipated delays, it is the course organiser’s responsibility to inform you of the reasons. All our coursework is assessed anonymously to ensure fairness: to facilitate this process put your Examination number (on your student card), not your name or student number, on your coursework or cover sheet. • Late Submission and Extensions Management of deadlines and timely submission of all assessed items (coursework, essays, project reports, etc.) is a vitally important responsibility in your university career. Unexcused lateness will mean your work is subject to penalties and will therefore have an adverse effect on your final grade. If you miss the submission deadline for any piece of assessed work 5 marks will be deducted for each calendar day that work is late, up to a maximum of five calendar days (25 marks). Work that is submitted more than five days late will not be accepted and will receive a mark of zero. There is no grace period for lateness and penalties begin to apply immediately following the deadline. For example, if the deadline is Tuesday at 12 noon, work submitted on Tuesday at 12.01pm will be marked as one day late, work submitted at 12.01pm on Wednesday will be marked as two days late, and so on. If you have good reason for not meeting a coursework deadline, you may request an extension from either your tutor (for extensions of up to five calendar days) or the course organiser (for extensions of six or more calendar days), normally before the deadline. Any requests submitted after the deadline may still be considered by the course organiser if there have been extenuating circumstances. A good reason is illness, or serious personal circumstances, but not pressure of work or poor time management. Your tutor/course organiser must inform the course secretary in writing about the extension, for which supporting evidence may be requested. Work which is submitted late without your tutor's or course organiser's permission (or without a medical certificate or other supportive evidence) will be subject to lateness penalties. • Grading Your first assessment will be returned with a provisional mark. This is meant to help you assess your progress toward the overall pass mark of 40. The mark is provisional because final marks are determined after consultation with the External Examiner at the end of the course. The final mark represents the assessment of your overall performance. Usually provisional marks provide a good guide to your final mark, but you should be aware that sometimes the External Examiner may disagree with the provisional mark. Typically this will only lead to a change, up or down, of 2% or 3%. Occasionally, however, larger changes are made by the Board of Examiners. You must bear this in mind, so aim to give yourself a good safety margin. Final marks for the course: Official results are sent out to students by the Registry, NOT Science, Technology and Innovation Studies. The marks given on Learn are a guide only, as they are subject to change after consultation with the External Examiner.

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• Re-Sit Students whose work fails to meet the pass standard are entitled to re-sit the examination in August, 2015. An essay must be written in response to a different question selected from a new list posted on Learn. This essay will be worth 100%. As with the earlier essays, the Re-Sit essay must be submitted via ELMA to the assigned dropbox. Students who fail twice in any given academic year may re-sit in August of the following academic year, without re-attending the class, providing the class is running in that year. Students should also be aware that course content may change in the intervening year. The onus is on students to check this by contacting the Course Organiser well in advance of the submission date. Students who fail twice in any given year may re-attend the whole class in the following year, should they wish to do so, providing this has been approved by their DoS/Academic Adviser. • Plagiarism Detection Material you submit for assessment, such as your essays, must be your own work. You can, and should, draw upon published work, ideas from lectures and class discussions, and (if appropriate) even upon discussions with other students, but you must always make clear that you are doing so. Passing off anyone else’s work (including another student’s work or material from the Web or a published author) as your own is plagiarism and will be punished severely. When you upload your work to ELMA you will be asked to check a box to confirm the work is your own. ELMA automatically runs all submissions through ‘Turnitin’, our plagiarism detection software, and compares every essay against a constantly-updated database, which highlights all plagiarised work. Assessed work that contains plagiarised material will be awarded a mark of zero, and serious cases of plagiarism will also be reported to the College Academic Misconduct officer. In either case, the actions taken will be noted permanently on the student's record. For further details on plagiarism see the Academic Services’ website: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academic-services/students/undergraduate/discipline/plagiarism • Referencing and Style and Guidelines When writing your essays, pay attention to spelling, punctuation and grammar. Bad English, and errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar, will be penalised. Marks will be deducted, and students may lose up to 10% in this manner, so take this warning seriously. Take pride in cultivating a good and clear style. You should avoid the use of non-academic sources, particularly those found on the Internet. Wikipedia is NOT an academic source, and may not be used as a reference in any manner whatsoever. Rely instead on the required and recommended readings provided in the course handbook and discussed during the lectures. Do not reference lectures, but rather the sources from which the lecturers are drawing their claims. Never ‘lift’ passages, even as little as sentences, from a book or article without placing them inside quotation marks. Doing so is plagiarism, and may result in a fail mark for your essay, however good that essay may be. Either use quotation marks or put the idea in your own words. Importantly, in either case you MUST reference the source. Referencing is crucial and

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expected of you. The fundamental purpose of referencing is to provide the reader with a clear idea of where you obtained your information. Lack of proper referencing will be penalised. This class does not specify a particular referencing style. However, you must be consistent in your use of referencing styles throughout your written work. Students are encouraged to look at referencing manuals on their own time. Either The Chicago Manual of Style, available in the Main Library, or the style guide available for free from the Modern Humanities Research Association (http://www.mhra.org.uk/) are good places to begin. We have also placed a guide to the Harvard style on Learn. Finally, some attention must paid to British/American divergences in spelling and punctuation. Either set of conventions is acceptable provided they are employed consistently. Most word processing software allows for selecting either UK or USA forms of English for grammar- and spell-checking.

OTHER POLICIES • Sexist, Racist, and Disablist Language The language we use can often contain assumptions that the experience of one group of people are those of all humanity, particularly with regard to sex and race. The core of our advice is this: never use male nouns and pronouns where you are referring to both sexes (use the plural ‘they’, ‘their’, or think of a different way to phrase your statement; you may also choose to use ‘he or she’). Also, you should never use language that is racially derogatory or insulting to people with disabilities or any other group. This does not mean that you have to conform to a narrow range of neutral opinions and views, but that your argument must be expressed in language that is both precise and not derogatory. • Course Representatives Two course representatives will be appointed at an early stage in the course. Among their various responsibilities, they will be expected to be available to represent your views and opinions to the lecturer. If you wish to make your views known and addressed, but prefer to do so anonymously, do so through the course representative. • Students with Disabilities The School welcomes students with disabilities (including those with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia) and is working to make all its courses accessible. If you have special needs which may require adjustments to be made to ensure access to such settings as lectures, tutorials, or exams, you should discuss these with your Director of Studies. You can also contact the Disability Office (Third Floor, Main Library, George Square, Tel: 0131 650 6828) and an advisor will be happy to meet with you. The advisor can discuss possible adjustments and specific examination arrangements with you, assist you with an application for Disabled Students’ Allowance, give you information about available technology and personal assistance such as note takers, proof-readers or dyslexia tutors, and prepare a learning profile for your school. You will be expected to provide the Disability Office with evidence of disability – either a letter from your GP or specialist, or evidence of specific learning difficulties. For

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dyslexia or dyspraxia this evidence must be a recent chartered educational psychologist’s assessment. If you do not have this, the Disability Office can put you in touch with an independent educational psychologist. Monitoring Attendance and Engagement It is the policy of the University as well as good educational practice to monitor the engagement and attendance of all our students on all our programmes. This provides a positive opportunity for us to identify and help those of you who might be having problems of one kind or another, or who might need additional support. Monitoring attendance is particularly important for our Tier 4 students, as the University is the sponsor of your UK visa. Both the School and the individual student have particular responsibilities to ensure that the terms of your visa are met fully so that you can continue your studies with us. Tier 4 students should read carefully the advice set out in the Appendix to this Handbook. This can also be found here www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/current_students/student_support/students_on_a_tier_4_visa .You can also contact: www.ed.ac.uk/immigration

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LECTURE SCHEDULE AND READING LIST Week 1: Introduction: What is it that Makes Science Special? Mon., 15/9 Introduction and logistics, and introduction to the special nature of science

Chalmers, A.F. (1992). What is this thing called science?, Ch. 1 (pp. 1-12). Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Tue., 16/9 The conventional picture of science vs. falsification Thu., 18/9 Merton’s and Kuhn’s norms

Merton, R.K. (1979). The sociology of science, Ch. 13 (pp. 267-278). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Mulkay, M. (1979). Science and the sociology of knowledge, pp. 19-21. London: George Allen & Unwin.

Yearley, S.(2005). Making Sense of Science, Chapter 1 (pp. 2-20). London: Sage. UNIT 1: THE ANATOMY OF SCIENCE Week 2: Science in its Social Context Mon., 22/9 Kuhn’s radical ideas about the history of science

Kuhn, T.S. (1972). Scientific paradigms. In B. Barnes (Ed.), Sociology of science (pp. 80-104). London: Penguin.

or Kuhn. T.S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions, Chapter 10 (pp. 111-135). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Tue., 23/9 Sociological studies of scientific knowledge Thu., 25/9 How knowledge is made, and made to circulate

Collins, H.M. (1983). The sociology of scientific knowledge: Studies of contemporary science. Annual Review of Sociology, 9, 265-285.

Shapin, S. (1984). Pump and circumstance: Robert Boyle’s literary technology. Social Studies of Science, 14(4), 481-520.

Shapin, S. & S. Schaffer. (1989). Leviathan and the air-pump, Chapter 2 (pp. 22-40). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

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Week 3: Controversy and Replication in Science Mon., 29/9 Why are scientific controversies important and why do they arise? Tue., 30/9 Studies of scientific controversy Thu., 2/10 Controversy and replication in science

Rees, A. (2001). Practising infanticide, observing narrative: controversial texts in a field science. Social Studies of Science, 31(4), 507-31.

Collins, H.M. (1981). Son of seven sexes: The social destruction of a physical phenomenon. Social Studies of Science, 11(1), 33-62.

Barnes, B., D. Bloor, & J. Henry. (1996). Scientific Knowledge: A Sociological Analysis, Ch. 1 (pp. 1-17). London: Athlone.

Week 4: The Life Scientific Mon., 6/10 Training and tacit knowledge

Collins, H.M. (2001). Tacit knowledge, trust, and the Q of sapphire. Social Studies of Science, 31, 71-85.

Kuhn, T.S. (1963). The function of dogma in scientific research. In A.C. Crombie (Ed.), Scientific change (pp. 347-369). London: Heinemann.

Tue., 7/10 Instruments, data and interpretation in the everyday life of science

Frow, E.K. (2012) Drawing a line: setting guidelines for digital image processing in scientific journal articles. Social Studies of Science 42(3): 369-392.

Thu., 9/10 Stock-Take: where have we got to + Q&A UNIT 2: SCIENCE CONTEXTUALISED Week 5: Science and Politics Mon., 13/10 How different are science and politics?

Barnes, B., D. Bloor, & J. Henry. (1996). Scientific Knowledge: A Sociological Analysis, Chapter 2 (pp. 18-28). London: Athlone.

Tue., 14/10 Science and the ‘naturalisation’ of inequalities Thu., 16/10 Science and gender

Schiebinger, L. (1986). Skeletons in the closet: The first illustrations of the female skeleton in eighteenth-century anatomy. Representations. 14, 42-82.

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Oudshoorn, N. (1990). Endocrinologists and the conceptualization of sex, 1920-1940. Journal of the History of Biology, 23(2), 163-186.

Week 6: Science, Risk and Safety Mon., 20/10 Scientific approaches to risk Tue., 21/10 Uncertainty and the ‘risk society’ Yearley, S. (2005). Making Sense of Science, Chapter 9 (pp.129-143). London: Sage. Thu., 23/10 The BSE controversy in the UK Seguin, E. (2000). The UK BSE crisis: strengths and weaknesses of existing conceptual approaches. Science and Public Policy, 27(4), 293-301. Week 7: The Courts, Science and Evidence

Mon., 27/10 Scientific knowledge and the expert witness Tue., 28/10 Legal interpretations of what counts as science Yearley, S. (2005). Making Sense of Science, Chapter 10 (pp.144-159). London: Sage.

Jasanoff, S. (1998). The Eye of Everyman: witnessing DNA in the Simpson trial. Social Studies of Science, 28(5-6), 713-740.

Thu., 30/10 Scientific evidence and advice for policymaking Yearley, S. (2005). Making Sense of Science, Chapter 11 (pp.160-173). London: Sage. Week 8: Science and Environment Mon., 3/11 Constructions of the environment

Harrison, C.M. & J. Burgess. (1994). Social constructions of nature: A case study of conflicts over the development of Rainham Marshes. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, 19(3), 291-310.

Tue., 4/11 Intervening in the environment

Goedeke, T.L. & S. Rikoon. (2008). Otters as actors: Scientific controversy, dynamism of networks, and the implications of power in ecological restoration. Social Studies of Science, 38(1), 111-132.

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Thu., 6/11 Climate change and politics Pielke, R.A. (2005). Misdefining ‘‘climate change’’: consequences for science and action. Environmental Science & Policy, 8: 548-561. Week 9: Scientific Expertise in Society and the Public’s Understanding of Science Mon., 17/11 Public understanding of science

Bauer, M.W., N. Allum, & S. Miller. (2007). What can we learn from 25 years of PUS survey research? Liberating and expanding the agenda. Public Understanding of Science, 16, 79-95.

Tue., 18/11 Lay and expert knowledges

Wynne, B. (1996). May the sheep safely graze? A reflexive view of the expert-lay knowledge divide. In S. Lash, B. Szerszynski, & B. Wynne (Eds.), Risk, environment and modernity (pp. 44-83). London: Sage.

Thu., 20/11 Stock-Take: where have we got to + Q&A Week 10: Science and the Media Mon., 10/11 The ‘bad science’ phenomenon Tue., 11/11 The role of the media in science Besley, J. & M. Nisbet, M. (2013). How scientists view the public, the

media and the political process. Public Understanding of Science, 22(6): 644-59. Thu., 13/11 Advertising in science and medicine

Brown, N. & A. Kraft.(2006). Blood ties: Banking the stem cell promise. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 18(3/4): 313–327.

Week 11: Review Mon., 24/11 Review session [No readings, but please prepare questions to ask]

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Learning Resources for Undergraduates: The Study Development Team at the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) provides resources and workshops aimed at helping all students to enhance their learning skills and develop effective study techniques. Resources and workshops cover a range of topics, such as managing your own learning, reading, note making, essay and report writing, exam preparation and exam techniques. The study development resources are housed on 'LearnBetter' (undergraduate), part of Learn, the University's virtual learning environment. Follow the link from the IAD Study Development web page to enrol: www.ed.ac.uk/iad/undergraduates Workshops are interactive: they will give you the chance to take part in activities, have discussions, exchange strategies, share ideas and ask questions. They are 90 minutes long and held on Wednesday afternoons at 1.30pm or 3.30pm. The schedule is available from the IAD Undergraduate web page (see above). Workshops are open to all undergraduates but you need to book in advance, using the MyEd booking system. Each workshop opens for booking 2 weeks before the date of the workshop itself. If you book and then cannot attend, please cancel in advance through MyEd so that another student can have your place. (To be fair to all students, anyone who persistently books on workshops and fails to attend may be barred from signing up for future events). Study Development Advisors are also available for an individual consultation if you have specific questions about your own approach to studying, working more effectively, strategies for improving your learning and your academic work. Please note, however, that Study Development Advisors are not subject specialists so they cannot comment on the content of your work. They also do not check or proof read students' work. To make an appointment with a Study Development Advisor, email [email protected] (For support with English Language, you should contact the English Language Teaching Centre).

STUDENTS ON A TIER 4 VISA

As a Tier 4 student, the University of Edinburgh is the sponsor of your UK visa. The

University has a number of legal responsibilities, including monitoring your attendance on

your programme and reporting to the Home Office where:

you suspend your studies, transfer or withdraw from a course, or complete your studies significantly early;

you fail to register/enrol at the start of your course or at the two additional registration sessions each year and there is no explanation;

you are repeatedly absent or are absent for an extended period and are excluded from the programme due to non-attendance. This includes missing Tier 4 census points without due reason. The University must maintain a record of your attendance and the Home Office can ask to see this or request information about it at any time;

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As a student with a Tier 4 visa sponsored by the University of Edinburgh, the terms of your

visa require you to, (amongst others):

Ensure you have a correct and valid visa for studying at the University of Edinburgh, which, if a Tier 4 visa, requires that it is a visa sponsored by the University of Edinburgh;

Attend all of your University classes, lectures, tutorials, etc where required. This includes participating in the requirements of your course including submitting assignments, attending meetings with tutors and attending examinations . If you cannot attend due to illness, for example, you must inform your School. This includes attending Tier 4 Census sessions when required throughout the academic session.

Make sure that your contact details, including your address and contact numbers are up to date in your student record.

Make satisfactory progress on your chosen programme of studies.

Observe the general conditions of a Tier 4 General student visa in the UK, including studying on the programme for which your visa was issued, not overstaying the validity of your visa and complying with the work restrictions of the visa.

Please note that any email relating to your Tier 4 sponsorship, including census dates and

times will be sent to your University email address - you should therefore check this

regularly.

Further details on the terms and conditions of your Tier 4 visa can be found in the

“Downloads” section at www.ed.ac.uk/immigration

Information or advice about your Tier 4 immigration status can be obtained by contacting the

International Student Advisory Service, located at the International Office, 33 Buccleuch

Place, Edinburgh EH8 9JS

Email: [email protected]