HUM596 Seminar II: Democracy and Diversity in Science Winter 2009
This course is linked to the 2nd quarter of the 2008-09 Science Studies Network Colloquium on Democratizing Science, a year-long faculty and graduate seminar, sponsored by the Simpson Center, that will meet every second week through the academic year.
Science at its best—well functioning science—is often taken to exemplify democratic ideals of deliberation: the high value placed on the open exchange of ideas, requirements of public reporting not only of the results of inquiry but of their bases, and the emphasis on collective practices of critical scrutiny are key examples of deliberative processes that that are presumed necessary for, or central to, successful science. Dewey characterized democratic deliberation as an experimental process, while contemporary “proceduralist” theorists of science like Longino and Kitcher reframe ideals like objectivity in terms of well functioning processes of community deliberation which ensure that scientific inquiry draws on a rich and diverse a range of epistemic resources as possible. A growing body of historical and socio-cultural scholarship reinforces these normative arguments for broad critical engagement, throwing into relief the crucial contributions made to the sciences by diversity among its practitioners, and the forms and contexts of its practice. The goals of the Winter quarter SSNet seminar are to assess these lines of argument for recognizing the importance of diversity in science, and to articulate more clearly exactly how scientific practice is, or should be, informed by ideals of (democratic) deliberation.
In the seminar meetings planned for this quarter readings will be drawn from texts such as Daston and Galison, Objectivity (2007); Fricker, Epistemic Injustice (2007); Kellert, Longino, and Waters (eds.), Scientific Pluralism (2006); Longino, The Fate of Knowledge (2001); Kitcher, Science, Truth and Democracy (2001); Rose, Politics of Life Itself (2006); Schiebinger, Plants and Empire (2004); Sunstein, Why Societies Need Dissent (2003); Young, Inclusion and Democracy (2000).
Information about the Science Studies Network and the year-long seminar on Democratizing Science of which it is a part is available at: http://depts.washington.edu/ssnet/.
Requirements and Logistics
Graduate students who enroll in HUM596 will be expected to attend all the bi-weekly Science Studies Network meetings in the Winter quarter, as well as two additional meetings with core faculty at the beginning and end of the quarter. Each bi-weekly SSNet meeting will be a discussion of precirculated readings lead by members of the core organizing group; the two graduate seminar meetings will be on topics and readings selected by the student participants in the seminar. Writing requirements will include a series of short response papers to selected readings and a summary reflection on the seminar as a whole.
Instructors
Winter Seminar Faculty Fellows: Sareeta Amrute (Anthropology) Angela Ginorio (Women Studies) Andrea Woody (Philosophy)
Instructors of record:
Phillip Thurtle (History/CHID); Simon Werrett (History); Alison Wylie (Philosophy)
Seminar meetings
Simpson Center seminar room (Communication 202)
Mondays, 2:00-1:30 (see SSNet calendar for dates)
Credit: 2 hours; C/NC