Office Hours are a great time to come get acquainted—this is time I have set aside specifically for students. You don't have to have anything specific to drop by! I would be delighted if you just come in introduce yourself and share something you love (like your pets, a hobby, favorite food, current obsession, etc).

If things are not going well for you in the course, or outside of it, please talk to me! If you can let me know before things are absolutely falling apart, we have a lot more options available to us to help you. It's harder to help when there are only two weeks before finals.

Instructor Course Description

We often make a distinction between the "hard" sciences and the social sciences and place a moat between the sciences and the humanities. However, no human experiences their life in such a disjointed way. Our daily lives are a complex intertwining of biological, social, emotional, and intellectual experiences that cannot be easily separated into neat categories. The boundaries we construct between disciplines are useful for organizing knowledge but don't reflect the fluid, interconnected nature of reality.

In truth, the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences all contribute to a fuller understanding of the human condition, with each offering unique perspectives on the same multifaceted world. Embracing the interplay between these fields allows us to approach complex problems with a more holistic and nuanced understanding.

In this course we will be examining the nature of science and its epistemological underpinnings, specific scientific concepts (e.g., objectivity, evidence, certainty), procedural and ethical questions regarding the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge, and ethical dilemmas within particular sciences. All of these topics will be approached from a variety of standpoints that are designed to challenge you, provide a chance to reflect on the ways you think science ought to operate in society, and encourage you to develop well-reasoned positions on these crucial questions.[1]

Instructor Learning Outcomes

Learning is a process of transformation. When you learn something, you have changed in some way, be it drastically or subtly. Here are some goals I have for you (and us) over the course of the semester:

• Practice using tools of inquiry with care, creativity, and criticality to analyze our own and others' reasons for holding various views about both the ways science functions in society and the ethical issues that arise from specific scientific disciplines.
• Analyze key scientific concepts and explain how adopting different conceptions affects the science being done and the implications it has for society.
• Gain experience deconstructing complex arguments, especially in writing, and charitably reconstructing them, identifying: the conclusion, premises, assumptions, and objections.
• Have greater skill at initiating and navigating (potentially) uncomfortable conversations about contentious issues.
• Develop dialectic skills such as active listening, critical analysis, clear speaking, as well as collaborative thinking and synthesis.

Required Textbook and Course Materials

I do not require any texts for this course. All readings and media will be provided for you through our Canvas Course Shell. I do this because I recognize that even small book fees can add up and this puts an undue burden on some students. However, I love this topic and would be more than happy to recommend further readings should you become interested! I would be even more delighted if you wanted to discuss them with me in office hours or over coffee sometime.

We will be using the learning management system Canvas this semester. Campus provides students with technology guidelines and recommendations to make sure you can access our course shell. In an ideal world, the academy would honor all voices that have contributed to its concepts, theories, and conversations over time. Unfortunately, this world is not ideal. There are many people from marginalized communities who will likely never receive the recognition they deserve because academia has, and continues to, privilege a very small subset of voices.

In this course, we will read papers from a diverse group of writers. Even so, I acknowledge that I have likely (if unintentionally) overlooked sources that deserve attention. It is possible (even likely) that there may be both overt and covert biases in the material due to the lens with which it was written. Integrating a diverse set of experiences is important for a more comprehensive understanding, and I would like to discuss these issues as part of the course as they become apparent. Please contact me (in person or electronically) or submit anonymous feedback through the canvas survey form if you have any comments or suggestions to improve the quality of the course and its incorporation of diversity along all dimensions.

I want our classroom to be a place of exploration that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives, experiences, and honors your identities (including race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, ability, etc.) To help accomplish this:

• I will make sure to use your preferred name and pronouns.
• I will address racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, classist, and other prejudicial statements and actions in the course and follow up with those affected.
• I (like many people) am still in the process of learning about diverse perspectives and identities. If something was said in class (by anyone) that made you feel uncomfortable, please talk to me about it, ESPECIALLY if that person was me.

Grade Components

Attending class and sections is mandatory. Inquiry is best done with others, and you (as well as your peers) will learn more when you participate actively and thoughtfully. We will go over what it means to be a thoughtful contributor to our discussions in the first days of the course.

There are five major components that will contribute to your final grade. They are designed to focus your effort and attention on your growth throughout the course. I know grades are important and matter. However, learning can be lost in the stress of making sure to get a certain grade. To help alleviate this, all of the assignments are low-stakes. There will be no quizzes or exams. Every assignment has been designed to give you the opportunity to reflect and demonstrate your learning without the pressure of competing, memorizing copious amounts of material, or completing meaningless busy work.

Here is a quick description of each assignment. Don't worry, more directions will be given before any assignments are due (see Appendices A-D for full descriptions).

ANNOTATIONS (25%)

One of the most important parts of this course is reading. We will read/listen to a variety of types of sources. Some will be academic papers, and some will be from media outlets. Sometimes the reading will be challenging and test your patience. However, it is the best way to encounter new arguments and will be the basis for our in-class work. Therefore, I want to reward you for completing it.

By annotating (we will talk about what this means) the reading each week, you will receive points, and these points make up the largest component of your grade.

QCCRs (20%)

By the end of each day we have class you will submit a QCCR. QCCR stands for: Question, Comment, Critique, Reflection.

This is a reflection and feedback device that will help you sort out your own thoughts about what happened in class and help me to understand how you are feeling about the material.

FRIDAY FACILITATION (20%)

Each of you (with friends) will be responsible for teaching the class one day. You will do this is consultation with me to make sure you are well prepared to have a good class.

DECONSTRUCTION-RECONSTRUCTION (10%) X 2

This assignment will be done twice during the semester, once towards the beginning and once towards the end. The goal of these is to allow you to practice identifying and analyzing arguments in other settings. You will be free to choose your topic of interest here.

PUBLIC SCIENCE PROJECT (15%)

For your final, you will design and implement a public science project based on your personal interests in science. Due at the time of final.

[1] I will be frank: It does not matter to me what ethical positions you hold, but I care deeply about you and why you hold the positions that you do. Throughout the course I will push you to deeply question and analyze your beliefs, but I will not try to persuade you to hold any particular position and will often play devil's advocate in order to encourage you to consider all reasons for and against a position.