• ESP/ANT 102 (Cultural Ecology) - Ben Orlove
  
• HIS 136 (Scientific Revolution) - Daniel Stolzenberg
• PHI 30 (Intro. To Phil. Of Science) - Roberta Millstein
• STS/RST 120 (Religion, Magic & Science) - Alison Coudert
  
• STS/ENG 173 (Science Fiction) - Colin Milburn
• STS 175 (Lab Studies Lab) - Timothy Choy
• STS 180 (Topics in History & Philosophy of Science) - Patrick Carroll
  

STS Courses for 08-09

ESP/ANT 102: Cultural Ecology
Ben Orlove, MWF 12:10-11 in 194 Young.
There are 3 discussion sessions attached: Mon. 4:10-5, Tues., 5:10-6, and Wed. 4:10-5.
Description: This course jumps into the key question of how nature and culture are related. Us humans have lived all over the planet, in diverse habitats, for centuries before colonialism and industrialism, and afterwards as well. How do human cultural diversity and environmental diversity match up (or do they?). This course examines four paradigms that address this question. You'll learn a lot about nature and a lot about culture, and you'll learn how to handle multiple theories as well--an excellent skill in our contemporary world. (You receive GE credit for Social Science, Diversity, and Writing.)

History 136: The Scientific Revolution
Daniel Stolzenberg
202 Wellman, TTh 4:40–6,
Description: This course will examine the epoch-making transformations of ideas about nature and knowledge during the age of Copernicus, Galileo, Harvey and Newton.  It will treat the intellectual culture of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, looking closely at source materials from this period, and will explore issues of scientific methodology – e.g. induction, deduction, probability, the rise of experimentation – and the development of scientific institutions.  Most importantly, this class will focus on issues of historical interpretation: was there a “scientific revolution”?  What does it mean to understand nature in more modern ways?

PHI 30: Introduction to Philosophy of Science
Roberta L. Millstein TR 1:40-3:00 PM, 119 Wellman
Description: This course considers a variety of questions in the philosophy of science, including: What is the nature of science? Can we distinguish science from non-science (or pseudoscience)? What role, if any, does gender play in science? No knowledge or ability in science is presupposed; however, we will take a non-mathematical look at a number of (potential) sciences, including creationism, evolution, sociobiology and parapsychology. TEXT: Readings in the Philosophy of Science: From Positivism to Postmodernism, edited by Theodore Schick, Jr. (2000). Additional readings online. Requirements: Class participation and in-class group projects, reading reflections, short written assignments, final exam.
Prereq: Not open for credit to students who have taken course 104. G.E. CREDIT: Arts & Humanities or Science and Engineering, Writing Experience.

STS/RST 120. Religion, Magic and Science
Alison Coudert, TR 3:10-4:30 Wickson1020
Lecture—3 hours; extensive writing. Religion, magic, and science from the middle ages to the present. Contrast between modern scientific methodology and religious and magical thinking. (Same course as Religious Studies 120.) Offered in alternate years.
GE credit: ArtHum, Div, Wrt.—Coudert

STS/ENG 173, Science Fiction
Colin Milburn, MWF 12:10-1:00pm Olson 146

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 3 or University Writing Program 1. Study of the literary modes and methods of science fiction. The course will analyze representative novels and short stories which exemplify major themes and styles in this genre—e.g., time travel; alternative universes; utopian, anthropological, sociological science fiction. GE credit: ArtHum, Wrt.

STS 175 Lab Studies Lab
Timothy Choy, TR 10:00-11:50am, 1120 Hart
Description: How are scientific facts produced in laboratories? How do scientists turn objects of interest into data? How do they formulate hypotheses and disseminate knowledge? This course is a hands-on introduction to the anthropological study of science-in-the-making. Students will develop practical skills in qualitative, ethnographic methods by conducting interviews with practicing scientists, and observing laboratory research. Through weekly readings and fieldwork assignments, students will develop a broad understanding of scientific practice. Topics covered in the course include lives and livelihoods in the laboratory; scientific instruments and institutions; scientific visualization and communication; and pedagogy and training. By analyzing their own field notes and interview transcripts, students will work towards producing an ethnographic account of laboratory life. Note: This course fulfills the STS Major requirement for a laboratory course.

STS 180: Special Topic: Science and Power
Patrick Carroll
Description: This course explores the relationships between science, knowledge, technology, and power.  The course has three parts.  First we consider the nature of science, and its power to define and transform reality.  In particular we will consider how science has been mobilized to define human natures in terms of race, gender, and sexuality, and the struggles surrounding these definitions.  We will also focus on the relationship between science and technology, focusing on the concepts of “technoscience” and “engine science.” 
    The second part will investigate the relations between science and nature, both in terms of our understandings of nature, and our interventions in it. The second part will conclude with a discussion of “sociotechnical” and “actor networks,” and will set the context for the final part, which focuses on the California Delta and the Central Valley Project (CVP).  We will take the Delta/CVP and its system of aqueducts, canals, drainage ditches, regulating reservoirs, and so on as a concrete example of the relations between science and power.  We will explore the system as a vast sociotechnical network out of which the state is fabricated, and discuss how the security and sustainability of the system will determine the future prospects of California.  This will involve considering the nature of the modern state as crucially engineered and technoscientific.
    In drawing on primary documents from the class database we will focus on the adoption of a bypass system for flood control in the early twentieth century.  We will compare the conflicts, controversies, and issues associated with the bypass proposal with controversies involving flood control and water conveyance today, and explore the different web resources for research (e.g. http://ca.water.usgs.gov/).  To the extent possible, we will take field trips to explore the levees and bypass weirs in the field, where we will take note of, for instance, engineering works, flow metering stations, and pumping stations. A field trip to the Bay Model Visitor Center is also possible.
Requirements: Students are expected to attend and participate in classes, take a mid-term and write a 6-7 page paper on the California Delta that draws on the course readings, archival materials available in the database for the class, and web resources. Participation is measured on the basis of class presentations on the readings. This is usually a small class run as a seminar rather than a lecture series.  Participation 20%; Midterm 40%; Paper 40%.