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Cultural Studies of Scientific Knowledge
SISP366 SP
Crosslistings: WMST365
Philosophical and sociological interpretations of science have often been divided by disputes between rationalists and relativists, or between scientific realists and social constructivists. Some of the best recent work,
however, including much of the
feminist scholarship in science studies, rejects the terms of these debates. Such cultural studies of scientific knowledge insist that knowledge is historically and culturally situated and politically engaged, without
thereby rejecting its ability to
provide knowledge of the world. This seminar aims to understand and assess such accounts of scientific knowledge that attempt to escape the debates over rationality and realism.
MAJOR READINGS
S. Traweek, BEAMTIMES AND LIFETIMES S. Shapin and S. Schaffer, LEVIATHAN AND THE AIR PUMP A. Pickering, ed., SCIENCE AS PRACTICE AND CULTURE D. Haraway, PRIMATE VISIONS M. Biagioli, GALILEO COURTIER and
selected papers by Steve Fuller, Bruno
Latour, Helen Longino, Paula Treichler, and Elizabeth Potter.
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Seminar presentation, reading abstracts, two papers.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS
Upperclass students with extensive background in philosophy, social theory, history of science, or cultural studies may request prerequisite overrides from the instructor. N.B.: SOC 237, SISP202, and PHIL235 are
equivalent to one of the prerequisites,
but an override form is still necessary because the computer won't recognize these course numbers. Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate with the instructor prior to the first
class, they will be dropped from the
class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT:
Lecture
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level:
UGRD
Credit:
1
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS PHIL
Grading Mode:
Student Option
Prerequisites:
SISP202 OR WMST209 OR SOC237 OR SISP205
Last Updated on MAR-24-2000
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Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459