NATS 1760 Lecture Notes - Bethune College, Academic Integrity
Document Summary
Nats 1760(a) (science, technology & society) fulfills your general science, general education, credit. Instead its goal is to give you some analytic tools and theoretical insights into the nature of science and technology as social practices. You will be taught about science and technology, about expert claims, and about the way in which technical claims to knowing facts intersect with political and social arguments about such claims to knowledge. The course is structured around several inter-locking themes and questions: The theme of the tension between expertise and democracy. We pursue these questions by focusing on debates over energy, climate change, vaccinations, and genetics. But we also seek to develop an understanding of the bigger picture in which such debates sit: the political, economic, ethical and cultural dimensions of such debates. The aim is to help you be informed and active citizens about important scientific and technological developments and practices; past, present and future.