HS 20181 [10 Credits]/HS 20681 [20 Credits]
SCIENCE, MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC
Semester 2, 2008-2009
Lecturer: Dr David A. Kirby
Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Room 2.26, Simon Building
Tel: 275.5837
Email:
Lectures/Seminars: Simon 3A, Tuesdays 14:00 – 16:00
If you enjoy this course and would like to continue with study in this area at postgraduate level, CHSTM runs two Masters degrees and has a strong PhD and MPhil programme.
The Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM), is a major international focus for research in the history of modern science, technology and medicine. It includes the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine and the National Archive for the History of Computing. The interests of Centre staff lie predominantly in 19th and 20th century history, mostly in Britain, Europe and the USA, but also including STM in developing countries. It gained a 5 in the 2001 RAE. The department is small and informal, with a lively postgraduate community, and strong formal and informal seminar programmes.
MSc/Dip History of Science, Technology & Medicine
This innovative MSc course aims to provide a comprehensive historical introduction to 19th - and 20th Century science, technology and medicine in their wider social, economic, cultural and political contexts, including training in historical and social science methods. A variety of option courses are available. Assessment is by essay, examination and a 15,000-word dissertation. (1year full-time, 2-3 years part-time)
MSc Research Methods in History of Science, Technology & Medicine
This new MSc course also provides a historical introduction to 19th - and 20th Century science, technology and medicine in their wider social, economic, cultural and political contexts, but places special emphasis on systematic and wide-ranging training in historical and social scientific approaches. A variety of option courses are available. Assessment is by essay, coursework exercises and a 15,000-word dissertation. Students accepted for this degree are able to apply for Economic and Social Research Council studentships. (1year full-time, 2-3 years part-time).
Research degrees: PhD/MPhil
Two research degrees are offered: PhD (3 years full-time, 6 years part-time) and MPhil (1 year full-time, 2 years part-time). The MPhil can be regarded as a preparatory degree for the PhD, or as a free-standing research Master's. We expect PhD applicants to have a strong background in HSTM (e.g. a good MSc in the subject, or considerable exposure to HSTM at undergraduate level). Alternatively, students can take one of our taught postgraduate courses before applying to go on to do research. These courses are designed to give you the intellectual grounding and practical skills you need to do original research in HSTM.
Full details of all CHSTM’s activities and courses can be found at www.ls.manchester.ac.uk/chstm.
Course Outline*
Week / Date / Lecture / Viewing/Reading / SeminarWeek 1 / Feb. 3 / Introduction / Thinking Critically About Science, the Media, and the Public
Week 2 / Feb. 10 / Public Understanding of Science and Policy Making / Greenberg (2001) / Participatory Science
Week 3 / Feb. 17 / Science in Museums and Science Centres
Guest Lecture: Dr. Sam Albierti / Friedman (1996) / Science Museums/Science Centres
Week 4 / Feb. 24 / News Content / Gregory and Miller (1999) / Analysis of Science in the Press
Week 5 / Mar. 3 / News Production / Gregory and Miller (1999)
Dunwoody (2008) / Journalistic Practices Across Media
Week 6 / Mar. 10 / Media Frames and Media Effects / Discussion of Newscast Project
Week 7 / Mar. 17 / Popular Science Books and Magazines / Turney (1999) / Review of Popular Science Magazines
Week 8 / Mar. 24 / Science Documentaries / Nova “Cancer Warrior”
Bennett (1999)
Pineda (2004) / Are science documentaries docudramas?
Week 9 / Apr. 21 / Wildlife and Nature Films / March of the Penguins
Bouse (2003) / Natural History Film Renaissance
Week 10 / Apr. 28 / News Cast Presentations / Presentation De-Briefing
Week 11 / May 5 / Science in Fiction / Fringe “Pilot”
Kirby (2008) / Science on Dramatic Television
Week 12 / May 12 / Reading Week
(*I reserve the right to deviate from this outline at any time.)
Introduction
In 2002 the Geological Society of America sent out a Press Release about geologist Kevin Pope’s challenge to the theory that dust from an asteroid impact caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. News media from the Guardian to Radio 4 to BBC News picked up the story. Other geologists responded to Pope’s claims in newspapers, on the radio and on television. A Time magazine article about this story contained a still from Dinosaur (2000) with the caption, “Even Disney has accepted the asteroid theory.” implying through its caption that a Disney film works as a cultural barometer to the acceptance or rejection of scientific thought. The Time article showcases the uphill battle Pope faces to get his scientific ideas on the map since “even Disney” accepts the asteroid theory. Pope is not only fighting other scientists, but also previous media representations, created with the help of scientists who accept the asteroid impact theory, in the news, on the internet and in movies such as Deep Impact, Armageddon and Dinosaur. Realizing that “even Disney” is treating the asteroid theory as “scientific fact,” Pope reached out to the public and other scientists through alternative communication routes: sending out a press release to promote his findings.
This episode clearly indicates that science communication is a much more complex process than merely publishing in scientific journals and attending scientific meetings. It also raises some fascinating questions about the nature, contexts and goals of science communication. Why was this particular story picked up by the media? Why was a respected scientific institution sending out a Press Release? How does a Disney film relate to scientific research? Introduction to Science Communication examines these types of questions as it explores the structure, meanings, and implications of science communication. Today the sciences are linked to society through many different channels of communication. The public interfaces with science during controversies on science and technology issues that involve scientists as well as journalists, politicians and the citizenry as a whole. Therefore, we will look at the contexts in which science communication occurs including the “public communication of science and technology” (PCST). We investigate the motivations of and constraints on people involved in producing information about science for non-professional audiences while analyzing the functions of public communication of science and technology. We will also try to link knowledge about PCST to research in communication more broadly, in order to develop new knowledge about science communication. To broaden our understandings of PCST we will construct our own public communications about science and technology.
Objectives
By the end of this course, you will
· understand the communication of science, technology and medicine from a Communication Studies perspective
· comprehend Science Communication's place in scientific practice
· appreciate the purposes and goals behind the communication of science
· become familiar with the public spaces for science, including the mass media and science museums
· increase your media literacy skills
· develop interpretative and analytical thinking
· improve your general communication skills
Teaching
The module will be taught in 11 weeks in semester 2. Each week there will be a two-hour lecture/seminar. The two hours will be divided between 1) a lecture, 2) a general discussion of the lecture, various media texts, and required readings and/or 3) small group discussions of students’ reports on the required readings/viewings.
The seminar component of the course is crucial to your comprehension of science communication. Therefore, attendance at these seminars is compulsory. This also means that everyone does the reading and everyone comes to class prepared to explore the readings. To "explore the readings" means you've read the required texts, you've thought about them, and you're ready to see where the arguments lead. It also means you've identified inconsistencies or problems with the logic and are ready to criticize the text if you feel it is lacking. You will usually find material that is intellectually challenging: it may require multiple readings to make sense, or it may challenge beliefs you already have (even though you may not have known that you have them). You will be expected to justify your reactions to the texts with specific references to the texts or, when relevant, to other texts. I have included some notes on critical reading at the back of this syllabus. Please read through these tips as they will help you in understanding and analyzing academic texts. They will improve our discussions and will help improve your written responses.
Readings
Each week has one or two texts which are “required reading.” Required texts are just that, required for that week’s seminar. The “further reading” lists are useful for the discussion at hand and I strongly urge you to examine a few of these before our seminar. The further reading will also be important for your seminar coursework and for your longer essay work.
All of the readings are available through JRUL either online, in the shelves, or through the Short Loans Collection. Talk to a librarian if you need help finding a resource. If you cannot track something down, let me know ASAP. Many of the further readings come from J. Gregory and S. Miller (1999) Science in Public (London: Plenum Trade). This is a useful resource that you may want to own for yourself. You can easily obtain this book through Amazon.co.uk, some other internet book seller.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a very serious offence, comparable to cheating in exams. It consists of passing off others’ work as though it were your own (e.g. lifting passages – either word-for-word or closely paraphrased – from books, articles, the internet, etc.). Even ‘recycling’ parts of your own work, which has been submitted for assessment at this University or elsewhere, constitutes plagiarism.
It is not difficult for staff, who are all professional academic writers, to recognize instances of plagiarism. Likewise, software for detecting material lifted from the internet is regularly employed in this regard.
It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the University’s policy on plagiarism before you prepare and submit any coursework so that you do not inadvertently commit this offence. Please see the University’s guide to avoiding plagiarism:
www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/studyskills/assignments/plagiarism/#top
Here, plagiarism is defined, and various misuses of sources are analyzed for their errors. Since academic writing typically draws on the work and specific language of other writers, it is vital that you understand the (often subtle) distinctions between ethical use of others’ texts and unethical appropriations of the work of others. The penalties for plagiarism range from being required to resubmit the piece of work in question (with a maximum possible mark of 40%) for minor instances to expulsion from the University in serious ones.
Disability
The University of Manchester is committed to providing all students access to learning in the way most beneficial to them. It is important to tell us about any additional support that you need. If you have a disability, a learning difficulty or any condition that YOU FEEL may affect your work then you might want to tell us about it. Please feel free to approach us to discuss any additional needs that you have. You may wish to email us, or we can arrange a meeting. Any discussion we have will be confidential. If you wish, you can also inform the Disability Support Office. It is based on the lower ground floor of the John Owens Building. You can drop in, but for appointments/enquiries telephone 0161 275 7512, or email .
Assessment
There are two modes of assessment for this course:
· For undergraduates taking the course as a 10-credit module (HS20181), assessment is by means of seminar response assignments, news media project, and an essay
· For undergraduates taking this course as a 20-credit module (HS20681), assessment is by means of seminar response assignments, news media project, an essay, an exam, and a longer project.
10 credits (HS20181)
(50%) Continuous assessment: News media project and presentation
(50%) Exam
20 credits (HS20681)
(25%) Continuous assessment: News media project and presentation
(25%) Exam
(50%) 3000 word research project based on a case study
1. Exam (required for all students): There will be a two hour examination for this class, which will count towards 50% of the overall course mark for 10-credit students and 25% of the overall course mark for 20-credit students. The date, time, and location of the final examination will be announced as soon as it has been determined. The scheduling and administration of the final examination will follow standard University procedures.
The exam will ask you to respond to short answer questions and essay questions which will require you to draw on both the lecture material and the seminar reading. The final examination will not contain multiple choice questions. All examinable material will be covered by the lectures, the seminar discussions, and the required readings. The format for the exam will be reviewed in more detail at the final class meeting on Tuesday, May 5. At that meeting, we will discuss the exam format, review the central themes of the course and discuss study strategies.
2. News Cast Presentation (required for all students):
Each student will come up with a 120 second radio newscast based on scientific research conducted here at the University of Manchester. You will want to make the newscast “exciting,” but you must also be conscious of oversimplification and misunderstandings. What is the major point of the story? What is exciting about the research? How can you explain the science in such a condensed format? To obtain material for your newscast you will interview a staff member on their latest research findings. More details will be discussed in class in Week 6.
There are four components to your newscast:
Recorded Presentation: You will deliver your newscast in electronic form in Week 10 (April 28) followed by a short Q&A from the audience. The timing of your newscast presentation plays a role in the assessment of this assignment. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make sure the presentation is timed properly at 120 seconds. Information on recording the newscast will be discussed in class in Week 6.