General Catalog 2024-25

Seminar, three hours. Historical and philosophical analysis of myth of separation of science and people. Controversies in genetics and biotechnology, medical research, and environmentalism show examples of popular science where scientists and nonscientists interact in surprising ways: when nonscientists challenge scientists’ authority and knowledge, where scientists act like social movement. and where scientists and regular people work together, sometimes cooperatively and sometimes competitively, to generate knowledge. Consideration of some implications and contradictions for politics and knowledge production that emerge from popular science. Letter grading.