| CODE | EMP1002 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Science and Society | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Environmental Management and Planning | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit explores the nature of science and scientific reasoning. It reviews the history and philosophy of science with a view to understanding the development of Earth Sciences within the broader scientific context. Other elements explored will include the social parameters of science, addressing the following: (i) the education of scientists, considering issues such as professionalism, specialization, socialization, the public and science; (ii) the norms of science that include Mertonian Norms, Counter norms, and norms as rhetoric and consensus; (iii) issues concerning communication in science such as the growth of scientific knowledge, formal and informal communication communication systems; (iv) issues related to science and technology including definitions, the relationship between science & technology and similarities and differences; (v) the social impact of science and technology such as the impact of scientific ideas on society, technology and society, and the social responsibility of science. Also addressed by this study-unit will be the political economics of science and technology and the intellectual framework of science, the latter addressing the development and testing of scientific theories, Popper's theory of verification and falsification, Kuhn's theory on paradigms, and issues relating to the natural and social sciences. Control and choice in science and society will also be addressed by considering key concepts of science and policy (accountability), participation, options and information. Also discussed by this study unit are anthropological perspectives of science and technology. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims to: - introduce students to the nature and constituents of science; - give students a historical perspective on the development of science and the scientific method; - present various different perspectives concerning scientific processes; - help students better understand the ways in which science has evolved over time; - enable students to understand that science is, on the one hand, influenced by processes occurring in society, whilst on the other hand, science itself has a major influence on human societies and the ways in which these develop; - enable students to develop a more critical perspective on scientific knowledge. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a. Describe the nature and constituents of science; b. Relate the historical development of science and its relationship to that of Earth Sciences; c. Describe the social framework within which scientific knowledge is created, communicated and applied; d. Discuss political economics of science and technology; e. Discuss the intellectual framework of science, what is meant by terms such as progress and truth; f. Explain interactive mechanisms between science and policy making. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a. Discuss how a 'socio-political-economic' perspective of science can be used to analyze science and technology in different contexts and for different purposes; b. Suggest strategies for evaluating and applying science and technology so that its immense potential can be realised for the benefit of the majority of people in the community; c. Develop a picture of scientific knowledge which is consistent with the sociological framework of science; d. Interpret how philosophical and historical perspectives of science may be applied to current societal and political choices and to the education of science. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: Kuhn, T., 1996. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press. 3rd Edition. ISBN: 978-0-226458-083 Bragg, M., 1998. On Giant’s Shoulders - Great Scientists and Their Discoveries From Archimedes to DNA. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1st Edition. ISBN: 978-0471396840 Restivo, Sal, 1994. Science, society and values: towards a sociology of objectivity. Lehigh U.P. ISBN: 0-934223-21-1 Supplementary Texts: Davies, P., 2005. About Time: Einstein's Unfinished Revolution. Simon & Schuster. 1st Edition. ISBN: 978-0-684818-221. Reiss, Michael, J., 1993. Science Education for A Pluralist Society. Open University Press. ISBN: 0-335-15760-2 Lepenies, Wolf, 1988. Between Literature and Science: The Rise of Sociology. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-33810-7 Feyerabend, Paul, 1982. Science in a Free Society. Verso. ISBN: 0-86091-753-3 Popper, K., 2002. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Routledge. 2nd Edition. ISBN: 978-0-415-278-447 Popper, K., 2002. Conjectures and Refutation, The Growth of Scientific Knowledge. Routledge. 2nd Edition. ISBN: 978-0-415-285-940 Fara, P.,2010. Science: A Four Thousand Year History. Oxford University Press. 1st Edition. ISBN: 019-9-580-278 Carey, S.S., 2011. A Beginner's Guide to the Scientific Method. Wadsworth Publishing. 3rd Edition. ISBN: 978-0-534-584-504 Achinstein, P., 2004. Science Rules: A Historical Introduction to Scientific Methods. The John Hopkins University Press. 1st Edition. ISBN: 978-0-801-879-449 |
||||||||||||
| ADDITIONAL NOTES | An Intermediate Level pass at grade C or better is required in at least one of the following subjects: Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Geography or Sociology. | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||||||
| LECTURER/S | Elisabeth-Frances Cremona Timothy Gambin Anthony Stephen Micallef (Co-ord.) |
||||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||||||||