Mobilizing Science

FYS 068, Fall 2023

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 Society of Black Physicists

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.

Instructor Drop-In Hours

My instructor drop-in hours this semester will be held in Hugel 125. (These are sometimes referred to as "office hours," but in this case that's a misnomer in this case becasue Hugel 125 is not my office.) These drop-in hours are listed below:


• Tues., 1:00 - 2:00 PM
• Wed., 1:30 - 3:00 PM
• Fri., 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

The default assumption is that my drop-in hours will take place in person. However, if the need arises for you to attend my drop-in hours virtually at any point during the semester (e.g., because of a winter-weather emergency or because you are isolating due to COVID-19), please email me in advance to schedule a virtual drop-in-hours meeting.

Course Schedule

Date	Topic	Reading	Writing	Fourth Hour
Week 1
8/29	Introduction: Science into Action
8/31	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	"I Should Have Done Better" (M); "Meet the Student" (M); "Stanford Tries to Silence Student Journalist" (M)
Week 2
9/5	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, Ch. 1-4		Film: "And the Band Played On" (9/7, 7:00 PM in Farinon 003)
9/7	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, Ch. 5-6
Week 3
9/12	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, Ch. 7-11		WA Conferences (Individual)
9/14	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, Ch. 12	Genre Writing (First Draft Due Friday, 9/15 at 5:00 PM)
Week 4
9/19	Policy, Pandemics, and Public Perception	Oshinsky, Ch. 13-16		Conferences with Prof. Thomas (Individual)
9/21	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, Ch. 1	Timeline & Reflections (Due Friday, 9/22 at 5:00 PM)
Week 5
9/26	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, Ch. 9 and Ch. 10 up to the break before the paragraph that begins "Though he was still recovering from jaundice..."		Panel discussion with Keith Dienes (9/26 at 12:00 noon in Hugel 017)
9/28	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, Ch. 10 from the paragraph that begins "Though he was still recovering from jaundice..." through the end of the chapter	Genre Writing (Final Draft Due Friday, 9/29 at 5:00 PM)
Week 6
10/3	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, Ch. 12, Ch. 15 from the paragraph that begins "Despite Pearl Harbor and the subsequent Japanese sweep..." through the end of the chapter, Ch. 18 up to the break before the paragraph that begins "No one doubted that Little Boy would work..."		Film: "The Day After Trinity" and Make-Up Class Meeting (10/5, 7:30 PM in Hugel 017)
10/5	Chain Reactions	Rhodes, Ch. 18 from the paragraph that begins "No one doubted that Little Boy would work..." through the end of the chapter
Week 7
10/10	Fall Break (No Class Meeting)
10/12	An Endless Frontier?	Marcus, Introduction and Ch. 1; "Science: The Endless Frontier," p. 1-21 (M)	Research Proposal (First Draft Due Friday, 10/13 at 5:00 PM)
Week 8
10/17	An Endless Frontier?	Marcus, Ch. 2 up to the heading "The Election of 1968"; "Beyond Sputnik," p. 25-47 (M)		WA Conferences (Individual)
10/19	An Endless Frontier?	Marcus, Ch. 2 from the heading "The Election of 1968" up to the heading "Marking Time: Gerald Ford"
Week 9
10/24	An Endless Frontier?	Marcus, Ch. 2 from the heading "Marking Time: Gerald Ford" through the end of the chapter		Panel discussion with Jeff Kost (10/25, 12:00 noon in Hugel 017)
10/26	Inconvenient Truths	Carson, Ch. 1-3; "The Desolate Year" (M)	Research Proposal (Submission Due Thursday, 10/26 at 5:00 PM)
Week 10
10/31	Mock Peer-Review Panel	Reading Proposals		Film: "Rachel Carson: The Woman Who Launched the Modern Environmental Movement" (11/2, 7:30 PM in Hugel 017)
11/2	Inconvenient Truths	Carson, Ch. 4-6
Week 11
11/7	Inconvenient Truths	Carson, Jigsaw Readings and Ch. 14-15;		WA Conferences (Individual)
11/9	Inconvenient Truths	Carson, Ch. 16-17; "Silence, Miss Carson" (M)	Research Proposal (Revision Due Friday, 11/10 at 5:00 PM)
Week 12
11/14	What is Sacred	"What Makes a Volcano Sacred?" (M); "The Search for Knowledge" (M); "Beyond Silent Spring" (M)	Persuasive Writing (Topic Submission Due Tuesday, 11/14 at 5:00 PM)	Film: "Hidden Figures" (11/16, 7:30 PM in Hugel 017)
11/16	What Is Sacred	"The Pandemic Hasn't Stopped" (M); "A Native Hawaiian-Lead Summary" (M); "New Front Emerges" (M)
Week 13
11/21	White Towers	"Public Opinion Polls and Perceptions" (M); "Blacks and Apollo" (M); "Moodoggle" (M)	Persuasive Writing (First Draft Due Tuesday, 11/21 at 5:00 PM)
11/23	Thanksgiving Break (No Class Meeting)
Week 14
11/28	White Towers	Paul, Introduction and Ch. 1-3		Conferences with Prof. Thomas (Individual)
11/30	White Towers	Paul, Ch. 5-6
Week 14
12/5	White Towers	Paul, Ch. 7-8		WA Conferences (Individual)
12/7	White Towers	Paul, Conclusion	Persuasive Writing (Final Draft Due Friday, 12/8 at 5:00 PM)