Science and Public

4 credits · Undergraduate

Science in public takes different shapes. It is defended as universal knowledge essential to human thriving. It is critiqued as a particular form of knowledge that does not take stock of the historical and social conditions imposing on its claims. It is dismissed or vilified as false or fake. How then does modern science relate to social and political values? Can and should scientific facts be independent of these values? In what ways are the sciences constitutive of modern publics and republics? Should publics decide not only on the value of scientific projects, but on the truth of scientific claims? Through historical and contemporary case-studies and analyses, this course seeks to approach, investigate and refine these questions.