SY2027:03
*NOTE* Science, Technology and Social Change
Townsville
Prerequisites: 12 units of level 1 subjects
Inadmissable Subject Combination: SY3027
26 lectures, 12 tutorials. First semester.
Staff: Professor S Crook.
The subject explores the two-way relationship that entwines science and technology with social change. Developments in science and technology are increasingly important motors of change in the contemporary world. However, science and technology are in their turn shaped by broader processes of social and cultural change. It follows that to understand the ways in which science and technology make their impacts on society, one must also understand the social institutions and processes in which science and technology take place. The following topics are discussed: the development of scientific institutions and the growth of science; organised ‘big’ science: government, industry and funding; science as a social system; norms, rewards, inequalities, communications; similarities and differences between science and technology; innovation in science and technology: discoveries and inventions; current transformations of science and technology; science and technology policy in Australia; the impact of globalisation; new patterns of knowledge and artefact production; challenges to discipline based science and to the science-technology distinction.
Learning Objectives:
- understand the principles that link institutions and processes in science and technology to broader social patterns;
- identify the characteristics that define ‘science’ and ‘technology’ as social institutions and practices;
- understand the causes and likely consequences of current changes to the organisation and funding of science and technology;
- apply the knowledge acquired in the subject to specific contemporary cases of change in science and technology;
- develop the following generic skills: the ability to think critically, to analyse and evaluate claims, evidence and arguments and to reason and deploy evidence clearly and logically; the ability to adapt knowledge to new situations; the ability to speak and write logically, clearly and creatively; the ability to reflect on and evaluate learning processes and products; the ability to learn independently and in a self-directed manner; to develop professional, community and environmental responsibility.
Assessment by tutorial work (20%); assignment (2,000 words) (30%); final examination (50%).