Women and Science

Instructors: Dr. Nilhan Gunasekera, Department of Chemistry and Dr. Holly Hassel, Departments of English and Women’s Studies

UW-Marathon County and UW-Rock County

Fall 2005

Contact information

Nilhan Gunasekera Holly Hassel

Office: 120 Williams Hall, UW-Rock County Office: Room 340, UW-Marathon County

Phone: 608-758-6569 (o) Phone: 842-0995 (h) and 261-6265 (o)

Email: Email:

Welcome to Women’s Studies 260, Women and Science! We are delighted that you will be joining us for the first offering of this new course in the UW Colleges.

Course Description (SS/IS) Women and Science will take a three-pronged approach to its subject: the history of women in science, their contributions to various fields, and current obstacles women face in scientific fields; how scientific disciplines have constructed gender and studied women and feminist critiques of science; and recommendations for change, to encourage the participation in and representation of women in science.

Course Learning Goals

Become aware of the gender disparities in participation in the sciences
Understand how women view and are viewed by the sciences, and the historic consequences of these views over time
Critique the assumptions underlying traditional research methods and to identify potential sources of gender bias in scientific research designs
Value research as a tool for identifying sources of problems
Develop the ability to pursue and effect positive changes in their own lives and in science fields

Course Teaching Objectives

·  To provide an overview of the contributions of women scientists (both historical and contemporary) in the Natural Sciences

·  To survey the participation of women in science using analysis of research data

·  To provide an understanding of how women view, and are viewed, by the sciences.

·  To examine the assumptions underlying traditional research methods and to identify potential sources of gender bias in scientific research design.

·  To relate the issue of gender bias to other forms of minority bias in research.

·  To create a classroom environment in which the experiences of women and men are validated by incorporating gender-inclusive alternative teaching methods that emphasize cooperative learning, group discussion and critical analysis.

Materials

·  Feminism and Science Edited by Nancy Tuana

·  Re-Engineering Female Friendly Science (Athene Series (Paper) by Sue Vilhauer Rosser

·  Assorted articles and handouts available on PDF in our course D2L Site

Requirements

·  Midterm and Final Exam: (20% each): Our midterm and final exams will have short answer questions about the readings, lectures, and discussions as well as short essays.

·  Final Project (20%): A detailed handout will provide you with more information about this project, but your Action Research project will involve significant involvement in an out-of-class activity related to the course content.

·  Participation in Online discussion (20%): Each week prior to attending class you will be required to post at least two, well-developed responses to prompts on our course D2L website.

·  Citizenship (10%): Citizenship means being present in class as well as being active, engaged, and thinking. Students who earn high grades for citizenship typically miss few if any class periods (especially in a compressed course like ours where we only meet once per week), always come prepared with reading completed and notes and questions on the day’s topics, participate actively in discussions, contributing thoughtful questions and comments, and generally approach new ideas with an open mind and intellect.

·  Weekly Preparatory Assignments (10%): This grade includes short research and writing assignments that students will complete most weeks.

Policies and Procedures

Grades:

Grades are equal to the following percentages:

97-100 A+

93-96 A

90-92 A-

87-89 B+

83-86 B

80-82 B-

77-79 C+

73-76 C

70-72 C-

67-69 D+

63-66 D

60-62 D-

59 and below F

Attendance: Because our course is heavily based on discussion and in-class participation, attendance at every class meeting is crucial. Our once a week meeting scheduled makes attendance at every class even more important. Missing more than one class period will adversely affect your citizenship and participation grades.

Classroom Environment and Structure: Our class operates under feminist pedagogy—the idea that our classroom is a community to which we each have something to contribute. As such, student contributions are essential and our class is set up to support them. Class periods will typically involve small and large group discussions, short lectures from the professors, in-class activities and application of the ideas, guest speakers, in-class writing, and one or two videos.

Study Partners: Early in the semester, we will set up study partnerships. Your partner will be responsible for providing detailed notes and handouts for you if you are absent, but it is your responsibility to contact your partner if you are absent. He or she will just gather handouts and take notes for you. List the contact information below.

Partner Name ______phone number ______

Backup Partner Name ______phone number ______

Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism is a kind of academic dishonesty that involves the use of another person’s language/words or ideas without proper citation. If you use more than four words in a row from another source, you should put quotation marks around them. If you borrow an idea from a published source, you need to use parenthetical documentation to give proper credit to that source. Any quote, paraphrase, or indirect quote must be cited appropriately. The consequences of plagiarism are spelled out in the Student Rights and Regulations handbook. For the purposes of this course, deliberate misuse of language or ideas will result in, at the least, failure of the assignment or paper, and possibly failure of the course with referral of the student to a disciplinary committee for further action by the university.

Policy on Late Work: Late work will not be accepted without a grade deduction with the exception of one assignment, accompanied by the “Grace Period Coupon” each student should receive the first day of class. One assignment may be turned in 24 hours late with this coupon without a grade deduction. Late D2L posting will not be accepted, and only documented emergencies will warrant a late midterm or final exam.

Students with Disabilities: Students who have disabilities that may impact their performance or participation in the course should speak with the instructors about accommodations. In addition, you should contact Students Services to develop a disabilities accommodation plan.

Assessment: Assessment is a UW Colleges-wide program which evaluates the quality and effectiveness of the curriculum, programs and services of the institution. As part of this, selected student assignments or activities in this course may be assessed for the following analytical: interpret and synthesize information and ideas. The analytical skill assessment will be part of a regular homework or in-class assignment but the assessment is not a “grade” and does not become part of your transcript. Assessment evaluations are compiled and used solely to evaluate teaching effectiveness.

Policy:

Ideally, this syllabus would cover every contingency of every possibility that might arise in the course of the semester. Of course, reality dictates that will not be the case. Thus, we reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus as the need arises.


Schedule

Reading is Due on the Date Listed

Unit 1: Taking Stock

September 12

·  Academic Autobiography—in-class writing assignment

·  Introductions to course and to each other

·  Syllabus Activity

·  Classroom culture

·  What are institutions?

·  Lecture/Discussion Guidelines

September 19

·  Listen Online: National Public Radio’s “Talk of the Nation” Feature story on Women in Science: Climbing the Career Ladder: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4817270

·  Read: National Science Foundation’s Status Reports on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science

o  2004: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/wmpd/start.htm

o  2002: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf03312/start.htm

o  2000: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf00327/start.htm

·  Read: Enhancing the Diversity of the Science and Engineering Work force to Sustain

America ’s Leadership in the 21st Century

o  http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2001/ceose2000summ/ceose2000summ.pdf

·  D2L Prompts: Which groups are under and over represented in the science workforce? How has their representation changed in the new millennium? What can be said about women’s academic achievements? Which kind of science jobs are women more likely to be found in? How do women in science compare to men in terms of salary & compensation?

·  Panel Speakers: Prof. Kim Kostka, UW-Rock County Chemistry Department and Prof. Charlotte Schulze-Hewett, UW-Rock County Math Department

September 26

·  Read: “The Gender/Science System: Or, Is Sex to Gender as Nature is to Science?” Evelyn Fox Keller (from F and S)

·  Whiz Kids, Chicago Tribune Sunday April 18th 2004

·  Additional reading assignments forthcoming

·  D2L Prompts:

o  Is science gendered? What is the relationship between gender and science? What historical research has been done to prove/disprove ideas about how gender relates to scientific ability? Is science objective? Subjective? How does either the objectivity or the subjectivity manifest? How does the status of women in science differ from culture to culture?

·  Web Research and Writing Assignment: Do a brief internet search at a search engine of your choice and locate information to answer these questions: Who is Lawrence (Larry) Summers? What are his opinions about women and science? Would he agree with the points-of-view of expressed in the above articles? Why/why not?

·  Guest Speaker: Prof. Caitilyn Allen, Dept of Plant Pathology and Women's Studies Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison

·  View in Class: The Secret of Photo 51 (for discussion 10/3)


Unit 2: History of Women and Science

October 3

History of Women Scientists

·  Web or Library Research and Writing Assignment: Using the provided handout as a guide, choose one woman scientist and conduct your own research either in the library, in the online databases, or on credible websites and answer the following questions about her:

·  Read: “Hypatia’s Heritage,” from Has Feminism Changed Science? By Londa Schiebinger (PDF file available on D2L)

·  D2L Prompts:

o  What were Franklin’s most important contributions to DNA research? What challenges did Franklin face as a scientist? What did she have working for that enabled her to pursue a career as a scientist? What did she have to sacrifice? How did informal networks and work environment have an impact on Franklin’s career?

o  In what ways have women been involved with science long before the twentieth century?

·  View in Class: The Pill PBS Special Video (for discussion 10/10)

October 10

History of Science and Women

·  Read: Two chapters from For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts Advice for Women, Chapters 3 and 4 (available on PDF on the Course D2L Website)

·  Read: “The Premenstrual Syndrome: ‘Dis-easing’ the Female Cycle.” (from F and S)

·  Read: “The Weaker Seed: The Sexist Bias of Reproductive Theory.” (in F and S)

·  D2L Prompts:

o  What institutions had an impact on the development of the pill? That is, how does the research and development of the oral contraceptive illustrate the feminist mantra “the personal is political”?

o  What critiques does Zita make of scientific research on pre-menstrual syndrome? Do a web search on PMS. Analyze the results you find—what are the current medical theories about pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS)? PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder)?

o  Using Tuana’s history of reproductive theories from Aristotle to the eighteenth century, provide examples of the way that values and gender ideologies influenced scientific theories.

October 17:

·  Review Final Project Requirements

·  Midterm Exam

Unit 3: Theoretical Perspectives

October 24

A History of Feminism and Science

·  Read: “Feminist Critiques of Science as Usual.” Chapter 5 in Rosser, “Applying Feminist Theory to Women and Science Programs.” Chapter 6 in Rosser

·  Read: “Frequently Asked Questions about Feminist Science Studies” (PDF available on D2L site), Association of American Colleges and Universities

·  D2L Prompts:

o  Choose two of the strands of feminist theory Rosser describes in Chapter 5 (liberal, socialist, womanist/ethnic, essentialist, existentialist, psychoanalytic, radical, postmodern) and compare and contrast them (that is, explain the similarities and differences).

o  Choose one of the feminist theoretical approaches described by Rosser and provide an example of a specific practice of promoting women in science that illustrates it, as Rosser does in Chapter 6.

o  What other questions would you ask about feminist science? Which questions remain unanswered for you after reading the AACU statement?

·  Power Point Lecture: History of Feminism in the US

October 31

Feminist Critiques of Science

·  Final Project Proposal Due

·  Read: “Is There a Feminist Method?” Sandra Harding (from F and S) and “Can There Be a Feminist Science?” Helen Longino (from F and S)

·  Read: “Feminist Theory in Science: Working Toward a Practical Transformation,” from Hypatia, by Deboleena Roy (PDF available on D2L site)

·  D2L Prompts

o  How does Longino distinguish between feminist science and doing science as a feminist? Agree or disagree with her statement on page 54: “If we recognize, however, that knowledge is shaped by the assumptions, values, and interests of a culture and that, within limits, one can choose one’s culture, then it’s clear that as scientists/theorists we have a choice. We can continue to do establishment science, comfortably wrapped in the myths of scientific rhetoric or we can alter our intellectual allegiances. While remaining committed to an abstract goal of understanding, we can choose to whom, socially and politically, we are accountable in our pursuit of that goal” (54).

o  1. Paraphrase the distinction Harding makes between methods and methodologies. 2. What are feminist epistemologies and how do they arise from problems arising in scientific research? 3. What do feminist researchers do, according to Harding, that differentiates them from nonfeminist researchers?

o  What difficulties does Roy face in doing science as a feminist? How does she critique Longino’s arguments?

November 7

Feminist Scientists?

·  Read: "Point of View: Are Feminists Alienating Women from the sciences?"--NorettaKoertge (handout)

o  http://chronicle.com/prm/che-data/articles.dir/articles-41.dir/issue-03.dir/03a08001.htm

·  Read: “The Relationship between Women’s Studies and Women in Science,” by Sue Rosser, from Feminist Approaches to Science (PDF available on D2L site)