Science and the State
HIST 336
Fall 2014 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
SISP 336, AMST 347 |
Over the past two centuries, states have been among the most prodigious producers and consumers of scientific information. Broad areas of scientific inquiry such as demography, economics, geography, and ecology substantially developed in response to the need of states to manage their populations, their economies, and their natural resources. State-directed scientific and technological innovation has also played a critical role in the pursuit of national security and infrastructure development, most notably through the development of nuclear weapons, missiles, and an array of military technologies. Finally, states have turned to scientific experts to enhance the credibility and legitimacy of policy decisions. This course introduces students to literature in the history of science that explores the connections between systems of knowledge and state power. Themes developed include the tensions among expertise and democracy, secrecy, and scientific openness; the relationship between political culture and scientific and technological development; and the role of quantification, standardization, and classification in producing political order. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST) |
Major Readings:
Ian Hacking, The Taming of Chance (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990)
Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and in Public Life (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995)
Daniel Lee Kleinman, Politics on the Endless Frontier: Postwar Research Policy in the United States (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1995)
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Examinations and Assignments:
In addition to small weekly writing assignments, students will develop an original research project in several stages: by producing a research proposal, a brief historiographical essay, and a final paper. |
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