Honors College 196 - Energy, Environment and Contemporary Issues in Science and Society </head> <body> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html><head> <meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="content-type"> <title>Honors College 196M - Energy, Environment and Contemporary Issues in Science and Society

Honors College 196: Energy, Environment and Contemporary Issues in Science and Society

Kelvin Chu

Spring 2008

Syllabus - Schedule

Honors College 196M - Energy, Environment and Contemporary Issues in Science and Society

Syllabus

Course Information

Instructor

Kelvin Chu (kelvin.chu@uvm.edu)
513 Cook Physical Sciences (656.0064)

Lectures

Tuesday, Thursday at 12:30 in University Heights North Complex 016

Texts

Dessler and Parson
The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change
Cambridge University Press
0-521-53941-2

Ristinen and Kraushaar
Energy and the Environment
Wiley
0-471-73989-8

Course Description

What role do science and scientists play in the world, and how are they perceived by other people? This seminar is designed to inquire into the relationship between science, scientists and society. Topics include global warming and alternative energy policies. The class will draw from contemporary issues that involve the influence of science on our society, and vice versa. Each topic will use the science involved as the foundation for a discussion of how the events shaped, and were shaped, by society. In addition to readings on each topic, students will have the opportunity to interact with scholars from various disciplines under discussion. The goal of the course is to broaden perspectives on science, increase scientific literacy and understand the societal impact of scientific inquiry.

Grades

Performance in the class will be evaluated as follows:

Class participation (25%) - The format of this course is a seminar, and carries with it certain opportunities and obligations. Although we will periodically have lectures, guest lectures, and films, the in-class portions of this course are organized primarily around discussion of the readings and the broader themes raised by course materials. It is essential that you come to class prepared - this means having done the assigned readings before every class and considered the issues you would like to contribute to discussion.
Writing Assignments (30%) - There will be several small (3-5 page) writing assignments as we finish a topic. The assignments will summarize the main points of the reading and class discussion.
In-class presentation (15%) -
Term Paper (30%) - The final course assignment is a 10-12 page research paper on the topic of your choice.