SIS 2003 - Controversies in Science and Society

How have scientific issues of the past impacted our present? How can what happened between Galileo, his science and the church still be a hot topic today? How might science help all of us to understand what we have done to our environment? How can one board of education make a decision that can affect an entire nation’s science curriculum? How might one professional board’s decision affect how we humans view each other? In this course we will simulate three historical scientific events and read original texts to understand scientific issues that are still at the center of divisions between people today. Students will take historical roles and debate critical concepts while gaining an active appreciation of what science is and is not. This course represents an opportunity to examine controversies from multiple perspectives and different disciplines.