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Science in Literature: Reflections on the Social Constructs of Science in Society
Course: OEAS/ENMA 795/895 Advanced/Special Topics (three credits);
Course title: Science in literature: reflections on the social constructs of science in society;
Instructors: Dr. Hans-Peter Plag, Dr. Michelle Covi, Michelle Heart;
Term: Fall 2014.
Course description: In this course, students will critically examine literature with the goal of developing skills in the understanding of scientific discourse and its rhetorical frames. Students will specifically explore examples from environmental literature while studying the use of scientific knowledge in public media, the political and the societal discourse in environmental issues (with a focus on climate change), and the use of scientific reasoning in science fiction and climate fiction.
Learning goals of the course
Students will:
- be able to analyze & synthesize texts and identify meta messages attached to "scientific" facts;
- have the skills to analyze the use of rhetoric in the communication of scientific knowledge;
- understand the importance of the personal bias of the communicator/scientist in framing the communication;
- be capable of separating fact- and value-based statements;
- be able to extract the social construct of science from literature.
Logistics
Offices and Office Hours:
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Dr. Hans-Peter Plag 4111 Monarch Way, Room 3211 p: 683-5335/773-4803, skype: hpplag e: hpplag at odu.edu (preferred mode of contact) Office hours: by appointment |
Dr. Michelle Covi 4111 Monarch Way, Room 3212 p: 683-5335 e: mcovi at odu.edu Office hours: by appointment |
Michelle Heart Office: BAL 8045, e: mheart at odu.edu Office hours: MW: 1:00-2:30 pm, TR: 2:00-4:00 pm |
For policies (Special Needs, Late Assignments, Grading) see here.
Prerequistes: N/A
Reading List: Is available here.
Time: Fridays, 11:15-2:00 PM
Room: 1st week, see note above. Other weeks: TBD
Approach
There will be weekly homework, mainly reading. Students are asked to come up with a weekly discussion thread & question to be explored also. One of the essentials of the course is to help the students to come up with good questions, rather than the answers. Our traditional system focused on “answers” creates a bit of an intellectual laziness and sometimes the best solutions are found in best questions, not otherwise. In our scheduling, we also leave room for an element of a surprise/something to be discovered during the course of the semester. Therefore, there may be changes to the weekly schedule.