There are two major assignments in this course. They include:
1. Short paper (5 pages) on course readings up through lecture 6 (due on lecture 7)
This paper should offer a critical engagement with arguments offered in the readings. Look for themes - e.g. nonhuman agency, laboratory practice as semiotic activity, critiques of social constructionism - that cross-cut the texts we’ve encountered. Develop an argument of your own that makes sense of what you see as important tendencies and debates in social studies of science around your chosen theme.
2. A 15-20 page research paper using course materials to discuss a case study of science in society.
Possible topics might include:
Politics of genetically modified food, reproductive technologies, bioprospecting, organ transplant, online communities, or sampling.
