in printable document format
World History of Science
Spring 2008
IHUM Fellow - Melissa Stevenson, Ph.D.
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“The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best
and therefore never scrutinize or question.”
-Stephen Jay Gould-
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Sections in 160 - 328: Office Hours:
05 – Wed/Fri 9:00 – 9:50 In Sweet Hall 315 or at MoonBean’s
06 – Wed/Fri 10:00 – 10:50 Wednesday/Friday 12:00 - 1:00
07 – Wed/Fri 11:00 – 11:50 and by appointment
Getting in Touch:
E-mail: melissas@stanford.edu
Office Phone: 724-6278
Home Phone (10am-10pm only): 707-889-0424
Mailbox: IHUM front office, Bldg. 250
Online:
Section Website: http://www.stanford.edu/~melissas/whos
LiveJournal Forums
Course Wiki: http://worldhistoryofscience2008.pbwiki.com (password ihum6ab)
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Welcome
Section is your chance to let the rest of the world (within our small confine) know how you feel and what you think about the works we are reading and watching. It’s a chance to share excitement, delight, disgust, brilliance, and confusion, to disagree and to learn from each other.
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General Course Requirements
Midterm 15% (150 points)
Research Paper 25% (250 points)
Research Presentation 10% (100 points)
Final Exam 30% (300 points)
Section Participation 20% (200 Points)
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Section Guidelines
Section Participation Breakdown:
Participation in Classroom Community: 10% (100 points)
Participation in Online Community: 5% (50 points)
Science Today News Beat: 5% (50 points)
Participation in Classroom Community (100 points)
Participation in each class session is essential and more than two absences will substantially lower your final course grade. You should each come to class prepared to actively engage one another and the course materials on the critical issues we will be addressing. I anticipate that the focus of this section will be discussion and not lecture, so its quality depends upon your willingness to participate. If you come to class unprepared, or unwilling to actively participate in section discussion, you might as well be absent and I will count you as such. Be sure to bring the relevant texts every week so you’re armed for battle. I will be keeping track of both the quality and quantity of your contribution to class discussion. If you are particularly shy, please contact me about your options.
Participation in On-Line Community (50 points)
This class is designed to be highly interactive, both in terms of class discussion and in terms of media. To this end, each class section has a dedicated LiveJournal Forum in which each student must take part. Over the course of the quarter you will be expected to contribute at least 10 times to the forum. This includes posting 1 argument and 9 responses.
Arguments must be posted before lecture the day before section. You should consider the reading material for the day and then develop an argument (100 words or more) in response to these texts and general course themes. What is the author’s central argument? Do you agree or disagree? What else might be implied by this author’s work? Does it represent a break from ideas previously presented in class or does it offer some form of continuity? While last quarter you were expected to ask a question, this quarter you must take a position. Please include a relevant quotation from the text you are considering.
Responses (125 words or more) must be posted by 10:30 that evening. Do you agree or disagree with your peer’s position? What would you offer in support or refutation? Might you complicate this position? Later posters should show an awareness of the positions taken by those who have replied before them.
You will help lead class discussion on the section for which you post your argument.
Sign up for your argument day on the course wiki by the second day of section.
Science Today News Beat (50 points)
One of the goals of World History of Science is to encourage students to be mindful of the way in which the history of science continues to unfold.
During the quarter you will be expected to find 5 current news articles (published within the month) on one of the scientific fields listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_of_science
You will print out the article and write a paragraph on its relevance to be turned into me and collected into a portfolio every other week.
You will speak briefly to the class on your findings at least once during the quarter.
Late Work
Late assignments will not be accepted except in very special circumstances. If you feel that your situation qualifies, contact me as soon as possible and certainly before the assignment is due.
Final Word
Welcome! I hope that you enjoy this course and that we can work together to make it a positive experience for all of us. Feel free to contact me (as above) if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the works we are reading/viewing, or class in general.
