Critical Thinking & Writing

in the context of

Science, Technology & Society

"This two-quarter sequence focuses on a theme related to Science, Technology and Society (STS) in the context of fictional texts in Anglo-American, African-American and Asian-American traditions. Science, Ethics and Society serves as an opportunity for students to explore the humanistic dimensions of science and technology through a discussion of the pressing controversies that now surround the social and ethical implications of scientific practice and its application in technologies.

"Several issues will be raised that focus on the challenges centered on the goals of scientific and technological progress, and the role that scientists play in addressing these challenges. After an introduction to Enlightenment ideals of rationality and its antithesis in postmodernism, we will examine how humanists have questioned the scientific method.

"This course will address literary, philosophical and ethical questions by investigating the ethical use and dissemination of genetic information, and human embryonic stem cell cloning."