Mobilizing Science

FYS 068, Fall 2021

Course Web Page

Brooks Thomas

Hugel 020
Physics Department
Lafayette College
730 High St.
Easton, PA 18042

Phone: (610) 330-5207
Email: thomasbd@lafayette.edu

Contact Info

Physics at Lafayette

Other Resources

• My Personal Home Page
• Lafayette Physics Department
• Physics Courses

• List of NSF REU Sites
• APS Resources for Students
• Society of Physics Students (SPS)
• CUWiP
• SACNAS National Conference

Central Themes of this Course

Scientific research plays a critical role in the way societies overcome challenges and respond to crises. How do societies mobilize scientific activity in the face of such challenges? Who foots the bill? Who decides the priorities? The reading and writing assignments in this seminar will explore the complex interplay between different social forces that mobilize science toward specific ends and examine the moral and ethical quandaries scientists often face when deciding how and whether to participate in the resulting research effort.

Course Materials and Other Useful Links

• Syllabus
• Course Moodle

Required Texts

• Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.
• Allen I. Marcus and Amy Sue Bix, The Future Is Now: Science And Technology Policy in America Since 1950.  Amherst, NY, USA: Humanity Books, 2007.
• David M. Oshinsky, Polio: An American Story.  New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005.
  
• Richard Paul and Steven Moss, We Could Not Fail: The First African-Americans in the Space Program.  Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2015.
  
• Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1986.

Office hours

My office hours this semester will primarily be virtual. This means that during the times designated as my office hours below, I will have a Zoom meeting open, which you can join from my office-hours Zoom link. If I am meeting with another student at the time you join the Zoom meeting, I may ask you to wait in the waiting room for a bit. However, if you and other students in the course have the same question, you can certainly meet with me as a group.


• Tues., 11:00 AM - 12:00 noon Eastern
• Thurs., 11:00 AM - 12:00 noon Eastern
• Fri., 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern
• Fri., 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Eastern

If there is a compelling reason why we should meet in person during my office hours, we can certainly arrange to do so. In-person office-hours meeting this semester will be held not in my office, but rather in Hugel 042, which is a larger, better ventilated room equipped with a HEPA filter. If you cannot make it during my formal office hours, please email me in order to schedule an appointment.

Course Schedule

Date	Topic	Reading	Writing	Fourth Hour
Week 1
8/31	Introduction: Science into Action
9/2	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	"How Anthony Fauci Became America's Doctor" (M); "Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines" (M)
Week 2
9/7	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, p. 8-78		Film: "And the Band Played On" (9/9, 7:00 PM)
9/9	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, p. 79-111
Week 3
9/14	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, p. 112-187		WA Conferences (Individual)
9/16	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, p. 187-213	Genre Writing (First Draft Due Friday, 9/17 at 5:00 PM Eastern)
Week 4
9/21	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, p. 214-286		Conferences with Prof. Thomas (Individual)
9/23	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, p. 1-28	Timeline & Reflections (Due Friday, 9/24 at 5:00 PM Eastern)
Week 5
9/28	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, p. 233-292		Lecture by Ainissa Ramirez (9/28, 7:00 PM)
9/30	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, p. 292-317	Genre Writing (Final Draft Due Friday, 10/1 at 5:00 PM Eastern)
Week 6
10/5	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, p. 357-393, p. 517-521, p. 617-651		Film: "The Day After Trinity" (10/7, 7:00 PM)
10/7	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, p. 651-678	Research Proposal (Draft Due Friday, 10/8 at 5:00 PM)
Week 7
10/12	Fall Break (No Class Meeting)			WA Conferences (Individual)
10/14	An Endless Frontier?	Marcus, p. 7-59; "Science: The Endless Frontier," p. 1-21 (M)
Week 8
10/19	An Endless Frontier?	Marcus, p. 61-99; "Beyond Sputnik," p. 25-47 (M)		WA Conferences (Individual), Panel discussion with Keith Dienes (10/19 at 7:00 PM)
10/21	An Endless Frontier?	Marcus, p. 99-134	Network Diagram & Reflections (Due Friday, 10/22 at 5:00 PM)
Week 9
10/26	An Endless Frontier?	Marcus, p. 134-151
10/28	Inconvenient Truths	Carson, p. 1-37; "The Desolate Year" (M)	Research Proposal (Submission Due Thursday, 10/28 at 5:00 PM)
Week 10
11/2	Mock Peer-Review Panel	Reading Proposals		WA Conferences (Individual); Film: "Rachel Carson: The Woman Who Launched the Modern Environmental Movement" (11/4, 7:00 PM)
11/4	Inconvenient Truths	Carson, p. 38-83
Week 11
11/9	Inconvenient Truths	Carson, Jigsaw Readings and p. 219-261;		Panel discussion with AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows (11/8 at 12:00 noon)
11/11	Inconvenient Truths	Carson, p. 262-297; "Silence, Miss Carson" (M)
Week 12
11/16	What is Sacred	"What Makes a Volcano Sacred?" (M); "The Search for Knowledge" (M); "Beyond Silent Spring" (M)	Research Proposal (Revision Due Friday, 11/16 at 5:00 PM)
11/18	What Is Sacred	"The Pandemic Hasn't Stopped" (M); "A Native Hawaiian-Lead Summary" (M); "New Front Emerges" (M)
Week 13
11/23	White Towers	"Public Opinion Polls and Perceptions" (M); "Blacks and Apollo" (M); "Moodoggle" (M)	Persuasive Writing (First Draft Due Friday, 11/23 at 5:00 PM)
11/25	Thanksgiving Break (No Class Meeting)
Week 14
11/30	White Towers	Paul, p. 1-67		Conferences with Prof. Thomas (Individual)
12/2	White Towers	Paul, p. 89-122
Week 14
12/7	White Towers	Paul, p. 123-187		WA Conferences (Individual)
12/9	White Towers	Paul, p. 220-240	Persuasive Writing (Final Draft Due Friday, 12/10 at 5:00 PM)