SPRING 2005 SYLLABUS

STS 2400--SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY: HUMAN GENOME

STS 2400-01 8:00-9:50 Tues. Room: J-109

STS 2400-02 8:00-9:50 Thur. Room: J-109

INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION:

Instructor: Dr. Julie Newell

Office: J-309

Drop box: take the first left past J-309, look on your left

Phone/Voice mail: 678-915-7481 Fax: 678-915-4949

email: jnewell@spsu.edu

Office Hours: : 10:00-11:15 Monday through Thursday, by appointment, and drop-ins welcome

My Web Page: http://www2.spsu.edu/cteacad/newell

Web CT Address: http://webct.usg.edu

PREREQUISITES: English 1101

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS:

Barbara Katz Rothman, The Book of Life (Beacon Press, 2001; ISBN 0807004510)
Fred Friendly Seminars, “Our Genes / Our Choices” viewers guide; free PDF download at: http://www.pbs.org/fredfriendly/ourgenes/get_involved.html or on the course WebCT page.
A copy of the film "GATTACA"--you need to see it before the last class meeting.  You can rent it at most Hollywood Video stores, or buy the VHS for about $5 or the DVD for about $15 at Amazon.com. You may well be able to get it cheaper.
Access to a web browser or time on campus to use the computers here—participation on the class web site is required. You must check WebCT at least every three days and are responsible for all course material and information that appears there and in the full on-line syllabus.
Access to a typewriter or a computer and word-processing software.  Be sure that you proofread all of your work (don't rely on software) and check to see that your printer or typewriter is not in need of a new ribbon or cartridge.  All written work in this course must be typed.

CLASSROOM PHILOSOPHY:

Come: be in class every day, on time, and prepared. Stay for the whole class.

Commit: expect to spend significant time and effort on course assignments—half measures won’t do. And that includes in-class activities.

Communicate: ask questions; share ideas and suggestions; participate in discussions and group assignments. Use the bulletin board in WebCT, too!

Collaborate: contribute to the creation of a learning community characterized by cooperation and mutual respect; learning isn’t a competitive event—we all do better when we all do better.

SPECIFIC COURSE PHILOSOPHY:

STS 2400 is an interdisciplinary course, designed to introduce you to some of the interrelationships--historical and contemporary--of science, technology and society. The depth of our dependence on complex technological systems, and the intensity of our emotional and financial investment in them, mean that such systems have wide social and cultural impact.  The goal of the course is to get you to explore the broader implications of science and technology, and so of your major and, ultimately, of your chosen profession.  Modern science and technology presents us with complex social, ethical, and cultural choices.  This course is designed to get you thinking about some of them.

To participate as a citizen in an increasingly scientific and technological world, you must be able to evaluate information, form your own understandings and opinions, express those opinions both orally and in writing, and defend them with appropriate evidence and example.  In this course you will be encouraged to do all those things.

Writing will be used extensively in this course.  Writing is a critical skill not only for expressing what you think and know, but also for developing your knowledge and understanding.  Writing is a process and will be used in this course to help you figure out what you think, what you know, and what you don't know.  Reading and writing are critical tools in this class.

COURSE GOALS:

Goal 1: You should be able to identify the ways in which science and technology are shaped by and help to shape society and culture.

Goal 2: You should be able to evaluate historical case studies and apply the knowledge gained from such case studies to evaluating contemporary issues.

Goal 3: You should be able to weigh evidence, construct arguments, evaluate arguments, and apply these skills to the debates concerning contemporary issues in science and technology.

Goal 4: You should be able to formulate and clearly express, both orally and in writing, your own position on contemporary issues in science and technology, supporting your position with evidence and example as well as logically consistent and fully developed argumentation.

ACHIEVING THE COURSE GOALS:

Goals 1 & 2: For most of you, much of the material in this course will be new.  We will use reading, lecture, film, discussion, and group activities to explore examples--both historical and contemporary--and to develop the skills to identify and evaluate the choices, access limitations, risks, costs, responsibilities, and benefits associated with scientific and technological developments.

There is no substitute for coming to class prepared.  You must do--and think about--the assigned work before you come to class.  And you must be present on a regular basis.

Goals 3 & 4: Discussion, papers, and class debates will provide numerous opportunities to develop and practice these skills.

EXPECTED RESULTS:

At the end of the course you should be able to demonstrate:

•     an ability to identify and evaluate competing views and the information supporting them.

•     an ability to formulate your own opinions on complex issues and to communicate your views clearly in both written and oral formats, and to support your position with relevant evidence.

•     an understanding of the ways in which science and technology have been shaped by, and have helped to shape, society and culture.

•     an improved understanding of the scientific disciplines and technologies relevant to your major.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the counselor working with disabilities at 678-915-7244 as soon as possible to better assure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:

Be sure you read the relevant section and know and understand the potential penalties in the University Academic Regulations in the current undergraduate catalog or on the campus web site. You would do well to read the document prepared by SPSU faculty members Bob Brown and Bob Harbort and supported by the School of Arts and Sciences.

ATTENDANCE / ON-TIME ASSIGNMENTS:

Participation in the give-and-take of class is an important part of this course. I expect you to be in class--on time--and stay until the end of the period. I will take attendance. If you arrive after attendance has been taken, it is your responsibility to sign in. Coming late or leaving early will earn you a partial absence, and three partial absences will count as an absence.

Every student will have 2 excused absences available to them for whatever reason. Excused absences are intended to cover all those unavoidable little disasters and scheduling conflicts in life. All additional absences will be unexcused except documented cases in which you are officially representing the University. If you feel you have a truly exceptional documentable case for additional excused absences, please discuss it with me.

Every unexcused absence will "cost" you 5 points.

You will be responsible for all material covered in class (lecture, film, and activities) and all material covered in the assigned reading whether or not you are in class. Use WebCT to see what you've missed and then feel free to come to me with questions or for additional information.

Late assignments will NOT be accepted for credit. Work turned in late may be evaluated to provide you with feedback, but will not be graded / given credit except in cases of documented emergency.

Assignments may be submitted electronically if you must be absent OR if you have a printer emergency, but they must still be submitted on time. If you must submit written materials electronically, please submit them as Microsoft Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) files and send them as email attachments. (You can send attachments in WebCT or by regular email but be sure the attachment IS attached.) And you may not submit assignments electronically on a regular basis (i.e. my office is not to be used as a convenient printing center).
All written assignments (mini papers and position papers) are due by the scheduled end of the section in which you are enrolled on the date specified. Electronic submissions must be sent by that time and in the specified format to be accepted.

Given the amount of advance notice you have for every assignment in this course, technology failure will almost never qualify as an emergency.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER:

Please see the hazardous weather page on Dr. Newell's website. Your assignments are due on the posted due dates even if bad weather closes the university! Be sure you have read and understand the course policy on hazardous weather.

GRADING:

When grading your written work, I start from the assumption that basically competent work that meets the requirements of the assignment is "C" work. "D" work fails on one count or the other. "A" and "B" work rises above the minimal requirements and demonstrates mastery of both the material and the skills outlined above. My grading (all done with numbers, not letters) is based on these definitions.

Following directions is a basic life skill. You are responsible for abiding by all directions and deadlines appearing in the printed syllabus, in the expanded on-line syllabus, or on the course WebCT site.

There will be limited extra-credit work available. All extra credit assignments are chosen based on their relevance to the course and their availability (at least in theory) to all students in the course. They occur periodically throughout the course and will be posted on WebCT. As always, if you want the credit, follow the directions carefully and turn your work in on time. Total extra credit per individual is limited to 10% of the required assignment total, or 27 points this semester.

I make every effort to grade and return assignments promptly. Once an assignment is returned, please bring any clerical errors to my attention promptly. For questions of interpretation or other more complicated issues, I ask that you wait 24 hours, think through the argument you want to make, and then please do come and discuss your concerns with me.

Please retain copies of all your graded work. I will periodically supply you with a copy of your scores as they appear in my computer. It is your responsibility to bring any recording errors to my attention, and you will need your graded work as documentation.

The Grading Categories are as follows:

2 Position Papers @ 30 points each:                   60 points

9 Mini Papers @ 10 points each; 1 @ 20 pts:    110 points

Debate and Debate Evaluations                            30 points

Attendance (see above)                                         65 points

Extra credit                                                           ??? points

                                                                           265 total points

The Grading Scale is as follows:     

89.5% and up =  A (237.5+ points)

79.5-89.4% =     B (211-237 points)

69.5-79.4% =     C (184.5-210.5 points)

59.5-69.4% =     D (158-184 points)

Please note that your final grade depends entirely on the total number of points you have earned during the semester. It doesn’t matter what “category” points are earned in, only what your total is at the end of the term.

For additional details, instructions, hints, and helps for all course assignments, check out all the interactive links in the on-line syllabus! And use the general advice and course homepage. WebCT provides access to ALL the resources for this course.