There will be three seven-page paper assignments exploring topics discussed in class.

Assignment #1

Write about 7 double-spaced pages on ONE of the following:

1. What is Michael Walzer's critique of the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Do you agree with him (and why)?
   
   
2. Now that you have read about the controversy surrounding the Smithsonian exhibit, and have been exposed to the different viewpoints of World War II veterans, Hiroshima survivors etc, do you believe that it is possible to give an objective account of the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki? If so, explain why (and how). If not, does that mean that all accounts of the bombing are equal?
   
   
3. What have been the effects of secrecy and military sponsorship on American science?
   
   
4. What are the consequences of corporate sponsorship of scientific research? Are new policies needed to minimize such consequences and, if so, what policies?

Example Student Papers

Weighing Utilitarian Calculation (PDF) (Courtesy of Eric Downes. Used with permission.)

Secrecy and the Military in American Science (PDF) (Courtesy of Charles Carter Jernigan. Used with permission.)

Assignment #2

Write 7 double-spaced pages on ONE of the following:

1. Was the Columbia accident a "normal accident"? Does this mean it could not have been prevented?
   
   
2. Write about either the Tuskegee experiment OR the experiments described by John Marks. In what sense were they unethical? What made it possible for the experiments to proceed despite their immorality? Feel free to bring in discussion of other experiments as appropriate.
   
   
3. How can science be made more democratic -- or is this goal either unnecessary or destructive to good science?
   
   
4. (For the ambitious): What is the relationship between risk and science?

Example Student Papers

The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (PDF) (Courtesy of Eric Downes. Used with permission.)

Democratizing Science: Processes for the involvement of the public in scientific issues and their success (PDF) (Courtesy of Christine Ortiz. Used with permission.)

Science and Risk (PDF) (Courtesy of Charles Carter Jernigan. Used with permission.)

The CIA's Quest for a Mind Control Drug and Wendell Johnson's Monster Study (PDF) (Courtesy of Adrienne Hunacek. Used with permission.)

Columbia: was it a Normal Accident? (PDF) (Courtesy of anonymous student. Used with permission.)

The Science of the Risk of Science (PDF) (Courtesy of Solomon Hsiang. Used with permission.)

Democratization of Science and Technology Policymaking (PDF) (Courtesy of anonymous student. Used with permission.)

Assignment #3

Write an op-ed style article on any issue pertinent to the last third of the class.

Example Student Papers

Kidney Transplants (PDF) (Courtesy of Kevin Yurkerwich. Used with permission.)

The World Can Benefit from Legalization of Kidney Sales (PDF) (Courtesy of anonymous student. Used with permission.)

Organ Sales Will Save Lives (PDF) (Courtesy of Joanna MacKay. Used with permission.)

Why Play With Nature? (PDF) (Courtesy of anonymous student. Used with permission.)

Should Embryonic Stem Cell Research be Permitted to Continue? (PDF) (Courtesy of Christopher Waits. Used with permission.)

Dissent from Within (PDF) (Courtesy of Mandeep Singh. Used with permission.)