Stvspring 2016 Course Offerings

STVSpring 2016 Course Offerings

STV 20142 Architectural History II
CRN 21671
Instructor not available

This course continues the history survey, beginning with Renaissance and Baroque Europe and continuing to the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe and the United States. It extends to the Modern Movement as it affected countries as far-reaching as Japan and Australia.

STV 20228 The Ethics of Emerging Weapons
CRN 26878
Ruiz de OlanoAltuna, Pablo & Latiff, Robert

This course explores the ethical challenges posed by the ongoing revolution in the technology of war. After learning about some general, philosophical approaches to ethical decision making, we will examine a wide range of new weapons technologies, from "smart" bombs, drones, and robots to em (electromagnetic) weapons, cyberwar, and bio-enhancement, asking the question whether the existing framework of Just War Theory and the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) are adequate for war as it will be fought in the 21st century.

STV 20228 The Ethics of Emerging Weapons
CRN 26879
Ruiz de OlanoAltuna, Pablo & Latiff, Robert

STV 20236 Philosophy of Technology
CRN 27433
Bourgeois, Mark

Topics covered will be: early philosophy of technology, recent philosophy of technology, technology and ethics, technology and policy, technology and human nature, and technology and science. Readings will be principally derived from David M. Kaplan (2004), Readings in the Philosophy Of Technology and Francis Fukuyama (2002), and Our Posthuman Future.

STV 20306 Environmental Chemistry
CRN 21684
Kamat, Prashant

Discussion of basic chemical processes occurring in the environment, particularly those relating to the impact of humanity's technological enterprise.

STV 20315 Health and Disease in Africa
CRN 30143
Bolten, Catherine

When diseases emerge in Africa, the media presents a relentless tide of infection, with AIDS and Ebola, for example, claiming thousands of hapless victims of "backward" thinking about medicine. Western journalists express disbelief that people should suffer and die because they refuse to take appropriate steps to protect themselves, whether it is taking the sick to the hospital, or wearing condoms to avoid contracting HIV. Why are treatable or even preventable diseases claiming so many African lives, and why can't medical explanations change people's thinking about health and disease? This question is best tackled by anthropologists, who look beyond the simple medical answers to questions of sickness to examine the social and political frameworks in which people live. This course will introduce students to anthropology through an investigation of how Africans understand and experience illness, and why what appears to be simple medical knowledge is anything but simple when it arrives via untrustworthy politicians and foreigners. We will investigate the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa, examine why polio persists in Nigeria, and delve into the politics of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. In addition to infectious diseases, we will ask questions about the social experience of disability in Africa, and draw comparisons in all of these investigations with the west.

STV 20331 Introduction to Criminology
CRN 24841
Thomas, Mim

As in introduction to the topic of criminology, this course examines crime as a social problem within American society. Particular attention is given to the nature and function of law in society, theoretical perspectives on crime, victimology, sources of crime data, the social meaning of criminological data and the various societal responses to crime. These topics are addressed through specialized readings, discussion, and analysis.

STV 20341 Sociology of War and Terror
CRN 25826
Faeges, Russell

This course offers a broad introduction to the sociology of wars, terror, and communal violence, including their causes, conduct, and consequences. We will consider the basic social forces which impel people to kill and to risk death in the name of their societies, including the relationship of violence to "human nature." We will survey the manifold characteristics of societies that contribute to and are affected by war and terror: politics; economics; religion; culture; demographics; the environment; gender; race, ethnicity, and nationalism; social movements; and social psychology. We will survey the scope of war and terror throughout social history and pre-history, but will give special attention to the security dilemmas confronting American society. And we will consider alternatives to war and terror and the prospects for transcending the communal violence that has been so much a part of social life for millennia. The format of the course combines lectures, presentations, and discussions. We will draw on both written and visual materials of several kinds. Grades will be based on examinations, brief written work, and participation. (This course requires no background in sociology. It is open to any student, regardless of major, who is concerned about the occurrence of armed conflict in social life.) This course bears the ALSS attribute.

STV 20344 Hacking Life
CRN 30144
Nordstrom, Carolyn

Everything is hacked. For good and bad, hacking has spread into every aspect of life - life-saving medical technology, social infrastructure, financial systems, biological processes, even personhood. This is both the font of profound creativity and dangerous global insecurity. It is the great equalizer: everyone has access to the technologies; everyone can be a target. And simultaneously it's disequilibrium: creating new haves and have-nots in politics, economics, and social capital. Studies show ELSI - ethical, legal, and social implications - are barely understood, with technology outpacing controls in all these areas. Completely new forms of power, criminality, science, society, and self are emerging. We, the proverbial anyone, are the battlegrounds for power and the source of solutions.

STV 20556 Science, Technology, and Society
CRN 23701
Jurkowitz, Edward

This course introduces the interdisciplinary field of science and technology studies. Our concern will be with science and technology (including medicine) as social and historical, i.e., as human, phenomena. We shall examine the divergent roots of contemporary science and technology, and the similarities and (sometimes surprising) differences in their methods and goals. The central theme of the course will be the ways in which science and technology interact with other aspects of society, including the effects of technical and theoretical innovation in bringing about social change, and the social shaping of science and technology themselves by cultural, economic and political forces. Because science/society interactions so frequently lead to public controversy and conflict, we shall also explore what resources are available to mediate such conflicts in an avowedly democratic society.

STV 20556 Science, Technology, and Society
CRN 25474
Jurkowitz, Edward

STV 24305 Media, Culture, and Society
CRN 25131
Instructor not available

Course description to be provided by the Office of International Studies.Course taken at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy.

STV 28309 Race Ethnicity
CRN 25828
Jones, Jennifer

In 2006, Henry Louis Gates popularized the practice of DNA ancestry testing through his PBS series "African American Lives". In it, he uses DNA testing to uncover ancestral connections to ethnic groups in Africa, as well as Europe and elsewhere. And yet, scholarly consensus is that race and ethnicity are social constructed- fictional concepts that have real consequences, but are not biological in nature. What is it about race that makes us believe it is constitutive of some essential, biological self, and yet racial categories and meanings are constantly in flux? In this course, we will scrutinize the classification of groups and the naturalization of those categories. Focusing on the United States, throughout the course we will examine the invention, production and reproduction of race from a social constructionist perspective, concentrating on the ways in which the constitution of race is controversial and constantly being remade. We will also discuss how race structures inequality in everyday life. This course is organized so that it builds from racial classification theory, moves on to an examination of the construction of US racial categories and racial stratification, and closes with an applied focus on racial controversies that are directly tied to resource allocation and federal policy.

STV 29697 How Pharmaceutical Drugs are Created, and Create Us
CRN 27434
Mirowski, Philip

In this course we examine how knowledge about drugs - legal, regulated, and patented drugs - is produced, distributed among diverse scientific-technical and social communities, and how it is received and/or consumed by them. As we will learn, the question of how drugs are produced and how they should be consumed is a highly contentious one. We will study how pharmaceutical companies work not just to distribute, but also to shape scientific knowledge about their products, and we will trace the mechanisms used to transfer that knowledge to researchers, physicians, and potential consumers. We will discuss a range of important issues that arise as our lives become more medicalized, for example: what is the nature of the diseases that researchers and companies target - are their characteristics and limits easily fixed? What are, and what should be the bounds of the use of pharmaceuticals for cosmetic purposes? How can society engage and deal with conflicts of interest - profits versus regulated safety; how can one ensure the integrity of researchers and research? What rules should be placed on how researchers and companies enroll research subjects, both in the US and abroad? We will start off exploring the history of pharmaceuticals regulation in the US, and then explore the peculiar history that led to the unique research infrastructure in the area of pharmaceutical research and development. Then we will turn to explore the wider range of implications of our system of drug production for society at larger, exploring the questions above in the context of diverse cases. In this course you will develop a far-reaching understanding of how scientific and technical knowledge in the medical-pharmaceutical world is produced and distributed, an understanding that you can apply to many other areas of knowledge production.

STV 30132 U.S. Environmental History
CRN 30145
Wiersema, Courtney

This course is an introduction to the new field of environmental history. While many people think "The Environment" suddenly became important with the first "Earth Day" in 1970 (or a few years earlier), environmental issues have in fact long been of central importance. In recent decades historians have begun actively to explore the past sensibilities of various groups toward their surroundings and fellow creatures. They have also increasingly paid attention to the ways environmental factors have affected history. This course will range widely, from world history to the story of a single river, from arguments about climate change to the significance of pink flamingos, and will survey a number of types of history including cultural, demographic, religious, and animal.

STV 30161History of Television
CRN 23531
Ohmer, Susan

This course analyzes the history of television, spanning from its roots in radio broadcasting to the latest developments in digital television. In assessing the many changes across this span, the course will cover such topics as why the American television industry developed as a commercial medium in contrast to most other national television industries; how television programming has both reflected and influenced cultural ideologies through the decades; and how historical patterns of television consumption have shifted due to new technologies and social changes. Through studying the historical development of television programs and assessing the industrial, technological, and cultural systems out of which they emerged, the course will piece together the catalysts responsible for shaping this highly influential medium.

STV 30193 The Global Environment: Capitalism, Socialism, Fascism and Nature
CRN 30146
Thomas, Julia

The question that this course asks is which political formations have been most conducive to environmentally sustainable communities and why. Historians have long been interested in political questions about power, state structures, democracy, and economic development, but only now, with the emergence of the global environmental crisis, is the relationship between politics and ecology becoming clearer. This course has four sections. It begins by examining the contemporary phenomenon of "climate collapse" and the problem of how to conceptualize this global problem historically. We then turn to the issue of which social values and modes of production and consumption have caused this dramatic transformation of our planet, tracing the effects of state formation and industrial development. Using major books, essays, and film, we compare capitalist, socialist, and fascist approaches to the nature. The purpose of the course is to provide students with a firm grasp of environmental problems and their relation to political communities.

STV 30201Introduction to Clinical Ethics
CRN 22989
Foster, James

The focus of the course will be an examination of the advances in medicine over the last 30 years that have challenged traditional values and ethical norms, and the institutional processes and procedures in place that facilitate decision-making in the health care setting. It will include a sketch of the most recent advances in the various fields of medicine, followed by an examination of the clinical and ethical questions they raise and how they have affected the physician-patient relationship. Note: This course counts as a general elective. Fall and spring.

STV 30902Methods Sociological Research
CRN 24723
Williams, Richard

Sociology 30902 is designed to provide an overview of research methods in the social sciences. Topics covered include (1) hypothesis formulation and theory construction; (2) the measurement of sociological variables; and (3) data collection techniques - experimental, survey, and observational. At the end of the course, students should appreciate both the strengths and the limitations of sociological research methods.

STV 40111Molecular Revolution
CRN 30147
Benn Torres, Jada

Issues involving the use of genetic technology has become commonplace within our lives. Throughout this course, students will explore the various ways that genetic information is used and interpreted by scientists, media, and the public with the primary goal of illustrating different social meanings of scientific data. Topics that will be covered include pre-implantation genetic testing, prenatal genetic testing, personalized genetic medicine, genetics and identity, genetically modified foods, and consumer-driven genetic testing.

STV 40151Psychology and Medicine
CRN 22324
White, Robert(Primary), Kolberg, Kathleen

This course has two basic objectives. First, it examines from a lifespan and psychobiological perspective the factors that place individuals at different stages of life at risk for illness and assist them in maintaining their health. In addition, it addresses a variety of challenging psychological and social issues that physicians and other healthcare professionals must face in the practice of medicine. The course covers a range of topics dealing with health issues related to different stages of human development (childhood, adolescence, and adulthood), disabled populations, culture and gender, stress, physician-patient interactions, death and dying, professional ethics, and social policies relating to health care. The course is primarily intended for students intending to enter medical school. Most classes will involve brief formal presentations by the instructors and invited guests, followed by discussion of assigned readings pertinent to the day's topic. In addition, students will be exposed, through a limited practicum, to a variety of medical settings.

STV 40187Technology in History
CRN 30148
Hamlin, Christopher

A thematic survey of the history of technology, from the Neolithic discovery of agriculture to the information age. Topics include the chemistry and metallurgy of antiquity (high-tech ca. 1000 B.C.), technology in Christian theology; the power revolution of 1200; arms races from the 15th century onward; the marriage of art and science; the industrial, agricultural, transport and communications revolutions; the American system of manufactures; the evolution of the engineering profession; and modern efforts to plan the technological future. These topics form the basis for exploring the following themes: How does technology change? How did we get where we are - do we have the technology now that we must have, should have, or need to have? What guides technical creativity? How have social effects of technologies been assessed and dealt with? How have technologies fundamentally changed ordinary life and societal organization?

STV 40190Media Industries
CRN 27438
Becker, Christine

"How do the contemporary film and television industries work? How can an analysis of the "business of entertainment" enable a greater understanding of contemporary media aesthetics and culture? This course will explore these questions by focusing on the structure, practices and products of America's film and television industries, and students will engage with academic readings, screenings, trade publications, current events, guest lectures, and written and oral assignments in order to understand the activities of the film and television industries. By the end of the course, students should be able to understand prominent practices employed by media conglomerates today; recognize the ways in which industrial structures and practices can shape media products; examine how television shows and movies are influenced by business strategies; and identify the potential impact that the media industries have on creativity, culture, and society. The course should be especially beneficial for students intending to pursue scholarly or professional careers related to film and television through its comprehensive overview of how these industries work, why they work as they do, and the broader practical and theoretical implications of media industry operations."