136-321 Science As Practice, Culture and Politics

Note

All BSc students, except those enrolled in the BA/BSc combined course and the BASc course, can only receive 12.5 points science credit at the 300-level for this subject.

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

At least two 200-level HPS subjects.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

The focus of the course is the many and heterogeneous standardisations which feature in the workings of laboratories. We consider the nature, the functions and consequences of standardizing in scientific work in both the practical and theoretical arena. The content is delivered in supporting students in carrying out a research project where they undertake participant observation in a laboratory. Part of the task is finding a laboratory to research and negotiating the study. In the study students will be expected to observe how people in the laboratory spend their time, to interview scientists and others, and to study the archives of the laboratory. The assessment of the course is tied directly to this research study.

Assessment

Research proposal and a research essay 5000 words.

Prescribed Texts

• Bruno Latour, Aramis or the Love of Technology.
• John Law, Organising Modernity.