Advanced Preceptorial 336: Science and the Social Construction of Race and Gender
Spring Term 2004
General Information
Discussion 2s, T Th
Instructor: Mary Crawford, SMC C210, x7326, mcrawfor@knox.edu
Office Hours: 3rd Hr W Th
Text: The Racial Economy of Science edited by Sandra Harding
Supplemental Readings available on Reserve in SMC library.
This course will examine the social construction of race and gender and how social constructs influence
scientific knowledge. We will discuss: a) how science defines and examines issues related to gender and
race; and b) how societal attitudes about race and gender influence scientific knowledge and scientific
access.
Grading:
Participation: 20%
Discussion Questions: 20%
Student Led Discussion: 20%
Homework Assignments: 30%
Class Action Project: 10%
Course Policies:
1. Several short papers designed to help you prepare for in-class discussion will be given throughout the
term.
2. The grading scale for this course is: 90% (A-), 80% (B-), 70% (C-), and 60% (D-). Late Assignments
are marked down one letter grade a day. Assignments over four days late will not be accepted.
3. This course is primarily discussion-oriented. Class attendance is therefore essential in doing well in the
course. Working in groups, students will be responsible for class discussion at least once during the term.
4. The assigned readings are to provide a framework for discussion. However throughout the term you are
encouraged to share other readings with the class appropriate to the subject matter of the course (such as
magazine and newspaper articles or material found on the web).
5. Below are the topics covered in this course:
Week Date
Topics/Readings (R and H indicates reserve and Harding text, respectively)
1
3/23/04
3/25/04
Introduction to Course
Issue 2: Does the Joan/John Case Prove That Gender Identity is Innate (R)
Being a Boy (R)
Sex Role Pressures (R)
2
3/30/04
Introduction to Theories of Masculinities (R)
On Male Liberation (R)
Gender and Science (R)
Theoretical Perspectives on Sex and Gender (R)
4/01/04
3
4/06/04
4/08/04
4
4/13/04
4/15/04
The DNA Mystique (R)
Homosexuality and Biology (R)
Issue 1: Are Humans Naturally Male or Female (R)
Biology and Environment (R)
Guest Lecturer-Kelly Shaw (R)
Changing Views of ‘The Gender Problem’ in Mathematics (R)
Sex Differences in the Brain (R)
Week Date
Topics/Readings (R and H indicates reserve and Harding text, respectively)
5
4/20/04
Theo Wilson and Lynn Johnson (R)
Margaret Welch (R)
Education and the American Dream (R)
4/22/04
Class Action Project-Interaction with Nielson School
5th graders, 9:15 am-10:15am
4/27/04
Discussion Class Action Project
The Study of Race (H, pp. 128-132)
4/29/04
In Class Exercise
Race: The World’s Most Dangerous Myth, Film,
Racial Classifications: Popular and Scientific (H, pp.116-127)
5/04/04
What’s White Anyway (R)
Who is Black? One Nation’s Definition (R)
Race and Biology (R)
American Polygeny and Craniometry (H, pp. 84-115)
Intelligence and Brain Size (R)
6
7
5/06/04
8
5/11/04
5/13/04
9
5/18/04
5/20/04
10
5/25/04
Common Histories (R)
Poverties and Triumphs of the Chinese Scientific Traditions (H, pp.30-45)
The Lost Sciences of Africa (R)
Situated Knowledges (R)
Eurocentric Scientific Illiteracy (H, pp. 1-22)
Methods and Values in Science (H, pp.341-343)
The Dilemma of Science Policy (R)
Make Up