Proposal for an Independent Concentration Program
Productions of Biological Knowledge
———————————————————————————————————————
submitted by:
sponsored by:
Brady Dunklee
Chris Amirault
SISD#18297 Box 5112 421-3270
Education, Modern Culture and Media
expected date of graduation: ‘03
submitted in semester 5
for the degree of A.B.
candidate for honors.
a new proposal which will be in addition to a currently declared concentration in Biology, A.B.
———————————————————————————————————————
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
Statement of Purpose
Science exerts a vast influence on the world’s social, intellectual, environmental and
technological realities. Science is, in turn, a cultural production set within these realities.
Decisions about science—whether they manifest as public policy, academic criticism or popular
movements— have increased significance in a climate where its power and scope are expanding.
Ways of thinking about science—frameworks in which to place scientific knowledge—have
emerged which draw from a variety of disciplines, and attempt an integrative understanding of
the production, distribution and operation of information. A diverse array of scholarship under
the heading "science studies" is concerned with the project. A science and technology studies
faculty committee has formed to promote the teaching and practice of the field at Brown. They
write, on their website (http://www.brown.edu/Faculty/COSTS/index.html) that
Academicians in the field of science and technology studies want to know how
scientific knowledge is produced. Our scientific belief system contains
idealized accounts of scientific knowledge formation. But these are
inadequate to the complexity of the process they pretend to describe.
A more sophisticated account of the formation and action of scientific knowledge is crucial to
decision-making in a scientific society. It is also interesting in its own right, as the study of one
of the most expansive and successful creative endeavors ever undertaken. Approaches to this
topic may include history, cultural studies, anthropology, literary theory, sociology and the
various sciences.
The purpose of Productions of Biological Knowledge is to apply the disciplines of
biology and science studies to construct an integrated understanding of the production and action
of knowledge in modern life sciences. Towards this end, the concentration also draws from
history, philosophy, ecology, epidemiology, literature, educational studies, and non-biological
sciences. Insights and techniques from all of these fields are employed to address a series of
organizing questions.
The first is the most basic: what is biology? What I mean by this question is that I wish
to explore the ways in which the field defines itself, the concepts which biologists produce and
agree on, and the technologies, methods and epistemologies which biology endorses. This
amounts to a firm grounding in the biomedical model’s content and doctrine. I have worked
towards this goal in several respects. First, I have six years of laboratory experience—four at
Yale and two at Brown. My research was in plant genetics and morphology, mitochondrial
proteins, molecular oncology and mutagenesis, and most recently, cytoskeletal biology with
Elaine Bearer in the pathology department. This work has given me a solid, experiential
understanding of what biology is in practice, as well as an exposure to advanced concepts and
techniques in specialized areas of the field. The second way in which I have attempted to
understand the field is by concentrating in it. I am in the A.B. biology program, which
contributes vitally to this independent concentration. I will pursue the biology degree regardless
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
of the outcome of this proposal.
The second essential question asks how knowledge is produced in biology. This question
moves beyond standard scientific accounts of method, looking at the use of symbols, material
technologies, assumptions, power moves, social structures, funding and representation in the
production of truth claims about organisms. How do we actually move from a nematode in a
dish to a complete genomic sequence of C. elegans? Addressing these questions requires a
variety of disciplinary perspectives. A large body of coursework has helped me explore this
subject, most importantly UC 49, HI 197.34, and BI 47. Bruno Latour in several of his books,
including Pandora’s Hope, presents extensive research and theory on how science works. This
question will be central to my thesis project, which will focus on characterizing knowledge
formation in the biotechnology industry (described below).
Next, I ask what the social realities are which mediate biological knowledge formation.
An extensive body of STS literature is devoted to the ways in which social categories such as
race, gender and class enter into scientific research. Historically, the effect (and often the intent)
of much of such research is to support social distinctions and power structures. Experiments
have often take advantage of such structures, as well. The Tuskegee syphilis experiments are one
famous example, in which epidemiologists used poor, rural African American men to study the
effects of the untreated disease. Scientific attitudes towards AIDS fed on and fueled homophobic
and anti-immigrant sentiment. Medical ideas of the female body shored up cultural beliefs in
women’s inferiority, claiming that higher education was damaging to reproductive ability. Many
other examples exist. More than simply biasing research along bigoted lines, social realities
mediate the kinds of questions science asks. The economic or political significance of a
particular issue can stimulate research and funding. The economic or political significance of a
particular ignorance can lead some questions to never be asked. Most of my coursework in this
concentration relates to these issues in some respect. BI 85 is focused on them specifically as
they relate to medicine and epidemiology. BC 218 is as well. The bulk of UC49 deals with
science’s engagement with social factors. CO 181.3 is expressly related to the subject, as is PL
178.
Related to these concerns is the question: what effects does biological knowledge have in
society? Recognizing that science carries authority, and that its truth claims therefore carry
power, I wish to understand where biological authority comes from and how it operates. What
does biological knowledge do in the world? How has this developed and changed historically?
In what forms must a statement or concept be framed to be understood as legitimate and
authoritative? What sorts of knowledge are excluded, and who is silenced as a result? I address
these concerns through coursework which includes UC 49, BI 85, ED 156, BC 218 as well as the
independent reading course in STS theory I am planning for the second semester of my senior
year. Also, my proposed honors thesis relates to this question through the study of a site of
knowledge production with profound implications for health, privacy and the environment.
The final organizing question asks how can knowledge formation in the life sciences be
structured for better social outcomes? If there are problems with the biomedical model’s
approach to the production of information with high social stakes, what opportunities exist for
reform? What alternatives have been tried? Feminist thought has often addressed these issues,
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
and Donna Haraway’s article Situated Knowledges has been especially helpful for me in thinking
about them. Also, a variety of epidemiological approaches I have been exposed to in BI 85, and
will see again in BC 218 suggest promising avenues of change in scientific thought. UC 49,
where I first read Haraway, deals extensively with the question. CO 181.3 takes literary ways of
viewing disease, death and mental illness as alternatives when medicine is inadequate.
What all of these new ways of thinking about science have in common is their
interdisciplinarity. In order to produce better social outcomes from biological thought, we must
combine the strengths of a variety of perspectives. Reductionism obscures. A commitment to
interdisciplinarity is the backbone of this concentration. Its goals could not be accomplished
through a program in a single department. Engaging multiple disciplines with each other around
the question of scientific knowledge production is the only way to understand it in its
dimensionality, motion, stakes and creative force. I hope that the committee will allow me to
undertake such a project.
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
Annotated Course List
PL 178
Philosophy of Biology
This course introduced me to scientific criticism and philosophy. Its commitment to concerns of
social justice attracted me. One example is the course’s analysis of The Bell Curve and the
controversy surrounding it. Biological, sociological and philosophical arguments were used to
address an issue with high stakes for social outcomes. The course, taken at the end of
my first year gave me the initial idea to design an independent concentration around issues of
scientific knowledge and controversy. PL 178 had a positivist approach which appealed to me,
and operated mainly within the bounds of traditional science. Problems occurred when people
were not objective, when value judgements and teleology entered the equation. While
this stance can valuably inform us on certain issues, it is not the whole story, as I learned,
reluctantly, in UC 49: Introduction to Science Studies. This is the core course of any science
studies concentration, and is a prerequisite in the model program offered on the COSTS website.
This course was deeply engaging, and solidified my intention to design an independent
concentration in the subject. It critiqued doctrines of objectivity through an interdisciplinary
approach, and studied the cultural construction and operation of truth claims. This theory was
applied to a variety of recent scientific history, including controversies over AIDS, race,
sexuality, gender and mental illness. The course taught me the fundamental principles of science
studies, acquainting me with the field and giving me invaluable analytical tools for this
concentration.
HI 118 Rise of the Scientific Worldview
This course provided me with a solid foundation in the history of early science, emphasizing the
variety of epistemologies, methodologies and evidential criteria with which natural knowledge
has been constructed. The time period extended from the Renaissance to Newton, and its sequel,
also
taught by Joan Richards was HI 197.34 Believing and Knowing: Galileo to Darwin. This
further emphasized the inadequacy of conventional, universalizing historiography to explain
scientific knowledge production. Through an exploration of the interfaces between science and
religion, we dismantled the notion that the two are, and have always been, opposing forces. This
course was valuable for its nuanced analysis of scientific history, its thoroughness in covering the
time period, and its insistence on the methodological and epistemological diversity which has
characterized the development of science.
PH 10 Experience and Explanation
Besides providing a solid introduction to physics from Newton to Einstein, this course was a
model of active interdisciplinarity. It was taught using the Broadway play Copenhagen, written
about a historic meeting between Neils Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, not only to introduce the
physical concepts, but to initiate a dialogue with them. Ideas from drama, sociology, political
theory, history and physics were integrated, and the result was a complex, embodied and
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
uncertain view of the scientific concepts. This experience was formative in my ideas about how
science is produced, portrayed, and how science should be taught. I took ED 156: Philosophy of
Education at the same time as PH 10, and the two courses complemented each other in many
respects. Taught by Chris Amirault, my advisor and professor in UC 49, it dealt with the
philosophy of knowledge, various political philosophies of education, and how best to teach.
Throughout the class, I focused on issues of objectivity and subjectivity and the cultural
production of knowledge. These were addressed in readings which included feminist, Marxist
and post-structuralist educational philosophers. My midterm and final project dealt specifically
with teaching science.
BI 192.3 Developmental Biology of Stem Cells was a seminar concentrating on a controversial
biological issue, mainly through a close reading of current papers on the subject. The focus was
on the methods used to understand and manipulate stem cells, and comparative analysis of the
conclusions. The course ended with a panel discussion on social, medical and ethical
implications of the research. In these ways, the course directly addressed the central focus of my
concentration, studying the production and effects of current biological knowledge.
CO 181.3 Literature and Medicine provided an introduction to the medical humanities, and
looked at biological knowledge from personal as well as theoretical perspectives. The course
included fiction and poetry which dealt with mental illness, death, and the experience of sickness.
It was designed to privilege personal knowledge where the biomedical model proved inadequate,
legitimating nonscientific views of scientific issues. Theorists were also included, such as
Foucault, Sontag, and Freud. The course contributed to my concentration goal by focusing on the
action of medical knowledge in human life, looking critically at its strengths and weaknesses in
dealing with life experiences.
BI 85: Biological and Social Context of Human Disease tackles some of the same issues as
CO 181.3, analyzing the production of medical and epidemiological knowledge. It takes a
biological and science studies approach to the problem of disease, asking questions like how are
our understandings of illness formed? How are these affected by class, race and gender
differences? What do epidemiological accounts emphasize? What do they obscure? How does
this affect policy and disease outcomes? How should we structure inquiry to achieve more
accurate and equitable results in public health? This course has served, in many respects, as a
sequel to UC 49, exposing me to STS theory in application. It has related directly to my focus on
biology within science studies.
CL 112.3: Myth and the Origins of Science is a seminar on ancient Greek and Roman
philosophy of nature. It addresses issues of teleology, natural history, causality, methodology
and epistemology in ancient knowledge production. It is valuable to my concentration for its
survey of the earliest influences on Western science, its study of early attempts at codifying
method, and its comparison between what might be called “protoscientific” thought and modern
science.
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
In the second semester of this year, I will participate in the School for International Training’s
(SIT) Natural and Cultural Ecology program in Queensland, Australia. This program consists of
several courses in ecology and ethnic studies, as well as a month-long independent study and a
field studies seminar. The components “Rainforest Ecology” and “Marine Ecology” will carry
credit towards my biology concentration. I believe that the Aboriginal Studies course and the
Independent Study apply directly to the goals of Productions of Biological Knowledge, and I
am attaching relevant course descriptions. The Aboriginal Studies component looks at the ways
in which a tribe in Queensland conceptualize nature and the ecological relations they have with
their environment. These attitudes and impacts are compared with the Western cultures which
settled the continent. This course is relevant to the concentration because it is a comparative
analysis of two cultures’ relationship to nature, mediated largely by science in one case, and
tradition in the other.
The Independent Study allows a great deal of latitude in its planning, and at the time of
this writing I cannot say with certainty what I will focus on. The SIT application required me,
however, to submit a tentative proposal, and my plan was to carry out a comparison of the visual
languages which ecologists and aborigines use to understand nature. This project would
undertake a close reading of aboriginal art and symbology, and of ecological specimen
preparation, diagrams and visual organizing technologies, with the intent of understanding
assumptions, values, priorities and concepts which go into each culture’s approach to the
material. This independent study, or another like it would contribute to my concentration goals
by increasing my understanding of the ways in which life sciences work, and their effects within
social environments.
BC 218: Critical Epidemiology will continue many of the lines of inquiry developed in BI 85.
The production of epidemiological knowledge is critiqued from a variety of perspectives,
including “social production of disease, political economy of health, ecosocial theory, feminist
theory, and black-box epidemiology.”1 Here again is the study of biological knowledge
production, and its impacts in the world.
Finally, I intend to design a GISP or ISP Independent Reading Course as a survey of
intermediate to advanced science studies theory. This is meant to expand my experience with
critical theory of science, and will include prominent thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Donna
Haraway, Bruno Latour, Richard Lewontin, Emily Martin, Thomas Kuhn, and others. I intend to
arrange this course with Anne Fausto-Sterling, who has sponsored such projects before, and is a
leading science studies scholar and biologist herself, although I have not yet spoken with her.
From Theo Luebke’s proposal for independent concentration, Scientific Knowledge in Environmental and
Public Health, approved November, 2000.
1
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
Proposal for Honors Project
The biotechnology industry has gained prominence not only as a massive force in
pharmaceuticals, agriculture and scientic supply, but also as a site of knowledge production.
This was made clear by the completion of the Human Genome Project in a race between a public
consortium and the private company Celera Genomics. The fact that the HGP took the form of a
race, and Celera’s motto “Discovery can’t wait” indicate the emphasis placed on speed in the
current environment. What other priorities and values guide emergent biotech research? What
methodologies and epistemologies facilitate it? To what extent does the rise of the industry
constitute a shift in the way biological knowledge is produced, disseminated, portrayed and
deployed? What are the stakes of this knowledge for social justice, health and the environment?
And what opportunities exist for democratic control over the process? These are the questions I
wish to address in my senior thesis.
To do so, I will undertake research along several lines. First, I will research literature on
the history, achievements and current state of biotechnology. Sources may include scientific
journals, historical, critical and popular texts. I will be particularly interested in controversies
over methods and evidence, such as the criticism of Celera’s “shotgun sequencing” technique
from some academic biologists. Sites of controversy such as this can point to shifts away from
accepted practice in knowledge production, which are the phenomena I wish to study.
Researching the literature in this manner will allow me to pick a more specific focus. This might
be a subset of biotech, such as agriculture or proteomics, or a particular area of relations between
the public and corporate biology, such as the effects of intellectual property law on scientific
practice.
Whether or not it becomes my focus, intellectual property law exerts a major influence on
scientific knowlege production in such areas as gene patenting, and must be included in the
project. To gain the relevant understanding, I will research legal literature, and seek out faculty
with expertise on the subject.
If feasible, I will attempt visits to academic as well as industrial research laboratories, and
conduct interviews with researchers. I will be particularly interested in potential differences in
method, technology employed, information security, record-keeping, pace of work, and what is
seen as conclusive evidence. Also, differences in social environment will be significant. The
purpose of this work is to look for new or divergent means of producing knowledge in the
industry, compared to the traditional academy, and to see what effects the two have on each
other.
I will also research portrayals of biotech—critical as well as positive—to attempt to
understand the how the industry conceptualizes itself, and how others conceptualize the industry.
This will include portrayals in advertising, looking at what the industry claims that its products
will do. Academic criticism will illustrate what traditional biology believes about biotech
knowledge production. News media representations will shed light on the ways in which
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
nonscientists view—or are told to view—biotechnological research.
Finally, a survey of science studies theory on shifts in knowledge formation, historical
and contemporary, will contribute to an understanding of these issues. This will be accomplished
in large part through an independent reading course in STS theory during the second semester of
my senior year.
In sum, this project will synthesize my interest in molecular biology with my work in
science studies. It will attempt an interdisciplinary understanding of a current field of knowledge
production, whose work has high stakes in social, environmental and medical application. The
project will conclude my time at Brown by applying the content and theory of my two
concentrations to original research.
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
SENIOR YEAR UPDATE
3/31/03
To Dean Bengochea and the Curriculum Committee,
Below is an updated list of courses for my independent concentration,
Productions of Biological Knowledge. I had two concentration credits preapproved for
the SIT Australia program, originally one each for Cultural Studies and Independent
Study Project. While the content of this course material remained the same, when I
arrived, the names of the courses had been changed. The Conservation Seminar
encompassed cultural studies, rainforest and marine ecology, and bore 1.5 credits.
The Field Studies Seminar was largely a methods course, and bore 1 credit. The
Independent Study Project bore 1.5. Because SIT programs are essentially unified, it is
difficult to translate their curricula to Brown’s system.
I am proposing that the Conservation Seminar contribute 0.5 credits to this
concentration, and the ISP contribute 1.5 credits.
The Conservation seminar encompassed two areas which directly relate to this
concentration. The first is environmental philosophy, which was approached through
readings and seminars on roughly ten philosophers and environmental economists.
The second is cultural ecology, which was an extensive readings and experience based
study of Aboriginal Australian cultures in Queensland, their history, political struggles,
cultures, and particularly their approaches to ecological stewardship. In sum, it was an
ethnographic course on indigenous biological knowledge production, and directly
applicable to this concentration.
My ISP, entitled Punya: Perspectives on Knowledges in Aboriginal Australian Cultures,
was an ethnography of knowledge production in Australian indigenous cultures,
approached largely from the perspective of visual art. It involved three months of
preparation, a month of 8-12 hour days of independent research and interviews, and a
week writing a 71-page paper.
The only other changes to my course list are the change of Critical Epidemiology to
Environmental Justice, due to a cancellation, the change in course number of my thesis
preparation course, the potential addition of an MCM couse in the fall, and a change in
my related courses.
If there are any problems with this list, please let me know. Thank you for your time
and support.
Sincerely,
Brady Dunklee
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
approved:
Chris Amirault
ORIGINAL COURSE LIST
Core Concentration Courses
PL 178
Philosophy of Biology
UC 49
Introduction to Science Studies
00-01
HI 118
Rise of the Scientific Worldview
00-01
HI 197.34
Believing and Knowing: Galileo to Darwin
Richards
PH 10
Experience and Explanation
Cooper
ED 156
Philosophy of Education
00-01
*BI 192.3
Developmental Biology of Stem Cells
Coleman
CO 181.3
Literature and Medicine
00-01
*BI 85
Biological and Social Context of Human Disease
CL 112.3
Myth and the Origins of Science
01-02
SIT Australia: Cultural Studies
01-02
SIT Australia: Independent Study Project
BC 218
Critical Epidemiology
BI 291
Thesis Preparation
02-03
BI 292
Thesis Preparation
02-03
Independent Reading Course
Sterling?
99-00
III
III
00-01
II
Gates
Amirault
Richards
IV
00-01 IV
IV
Amirault
00-01 IV
IV
01-02
V
VI
01-02
02-03
VII
VIII
02-03
Weinstein
V
Braun
Gill
VI
VII
Zierler
VIII Fausto-
Related Courses
*CH 21
Introductory Chemistry
99-00 I
*CH 22
Thermodynamics, Reactions, Inorganic Chemistry
II
Gorun
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
Doll
99-00
*BI 100
Radiobiology
99-00 II
Leith
*BN 1
Introduction to Neuroscience
00-01 III
Bear,
Stein
*BI 47
Genetics
01-02 V
Tatar, Landy
*SIT Australia: Marine Ecology
01-02 VI
*SIT Australia: Rainforest Ecology
01-02 VI
*BI 45
Animal Behavior
02-03 VII Waage
*BI 141
Evolutionary Genetics
02-03 VII
Rand
*BI 131
Analysis of Development
02-03 VIII Coleman
_________________________________________________________________
*carries biology concentration credit.
UPDATED COURSE LIST
Core Concentration Courses
PL 178
Philosophy of Biology
99-00 II
Gates
UC 49
Introduction to Science Studies
00-01 III
Amirault
HI 118
Rise of the Scientific Worldview
00-01 III
Richards
HI 197.34
Believing and Knowing: Galileo to Darwin
00-01 IV
Richards
PH 10
Experience and Explanation
00-01 IV
Cooper
ED 156
Philosophy of Education
00-01 IV
Amirault
*BI 192.3
Developmental Biology of Stem Cells
00-01 IV
Coleman
CO 181.3
Literature and Medicine
00-01 IV
Weinstein
*BI 85
Biological and Social Context of Human Disease
01-02 V
Braun
CL 112.3
Myth and the Origins of Science
01-02 V
Gill
SIT Australia: Conservation Seminar
01-02 VI
(0.5 credit)
SIT Australia: Independent Study Project
01-02 VI
(1.5
credit)
ES 172
Environmental Justice
02-03 VII
Morello-Frosch
ED 192
Thesis Preparation
02-03
VII Amirault,
Reardon
ED 191 Thesis Preparation
03-04
VIII
Amirault, Reardon
Independent Reading Course
03-04 VIII FaustoSterling?
(possibly)
MC 150:
Michel Foucault and his interlocutors
03-04 VIII Chow
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
Related Courses
*CH 21
Introductory Chemistry
99-00 I
Doll
*CH 22
Thermodynamics, Reactions, Inorganic Chemistry
99-00
II
Gorun
*BI 100
Radiobiology
99-00 II
Leith
*BN 1
Introduction to Neuroscience
00-01 III
Bear,
Stein
*BI 47
Genetics
01-02 V
Tatar, Landy
*SIT Australia:
Conservation Seminar
01-02 VI (1 credit)
*SIT Australia:
Field Studies Seminar
01-02 VI (1 credit)
*BI 106
Cell Biology and Biotechnology
02-03 VII Heywood
_________________________________________________________________
*carries biology concentration credit.
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
Final Update
This was the original course list from my proposal “Productions of Biological Knowledge.” The
italicized courses have changes in my new course list, below.
Core Concentration Courses
PL 178 Philosophy of Biology
99-00
UC 49
Introduction to Science Studies
HI 118
Rise of the Scientific Worldview
HI 197.34
Believing and Knowing: Galileo to Darwin
PH 10
Experience and Explanation
ED 156
Philosophy of Education
*BI 192.3
Developmental Biology of Stem Cells
CO 181.3
Literature and Medicine
*BI 85
Biological and Social Context of Human Disease
CL 112.3
Myth and the Origins of Science
SIT Australia: Cultural Studies
SIT Australia: Independent Study Project
BC 218
Critical Epidemiology
02-03
BI 291
Thesis Preparation
BI 292
Thesis Preparation
Independent Reading Course
02-03
II
00-01
00-01
00-01
00-01
00-01
Gates
III
Amirault
III
Richards
IV
Richards
IV
Cooper
IV
Amirault
00-01 IV
Coleman
00-01 IV
Weinstein
01-02 V
Braun
01-02 V
Gill
01-02 VI
01-02 VI
VII
Zierler
02-03 VII
02-03 VIII
VIII Fausto-Sterling?
Related Courses
*CH 21
Introductory Chemistry
99-00
22
Thermodynamics, Reactions, Inorganic Chemistry 99-00 II
*BI 100
Radiobiology
99-00
*BN 1
Introduction to Neuroscience
00-01 III
*BI 47
Genetics
01-02 V
*SIT Australia: Marine Ecology
01-02 VI
*SIT Australia: Rainforest Ecology
01-02 VI
*BI 45
Animal Behavior
02-03 VII
*BI 141
Evolutionary Genetics
02-03 VII
*BI 131
Analysis of Development
02-03 VIII
_________________________________________________________________
*carries biology concentration credit.
I
Doll *CH
Gorun
II
Leith
Bear, Stein
Tatar, Landy
Waage
Rand
Coleman
This is the revised course list. Changed courses are marked in boldface.
Core Concentration Courses
*PL 178
Philosophy of Biology
99-00 II
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
Gates
*UC 49
Introduction to Science Studies
00-01 III
Amirault
HI 118
Rise of the Scientific Worldview
00-01 III
Richards
HI 197.34
Believing and Knowing: Galileo to Darwin
00-01 IV
Richards
PH 10
Experience and Explanation
00-01 IV
Cooper
ED 156
Philosophy of Education
00-01 IV
Amirault
CO 181.3
Literature and Medicine
00-01 IV
Weinstein
CL 112.3
Myth and the Origins of Science
01-02 V
Gill
SIT Australia: Natural and Cultural Ecology Seminar 01-02 VI
SIT Australia: Independent Study Project
01-02 VI
ES 172
Environmental Justice
02-03 VII Morello-Frosch
ED 192
Independent Study
02-03 VII
Amirault
ED 191
Independent Study
03-04 VIII Amirault
EL 190.07
20th C. Reconceptions
03-04 VIII
Smith
Related Courses
*CH 21
Introductory Chemistry
99-00 I
*CH 22
Thermodynamics, Reactions, Inorganic Chemistry 99-00 II
*BI 100
Radiobiology
99-00 II
*BN 1
Introduction to Neuroscience
00-01 III
*BI 192.3
Developmental Biology of Stem Cells
00-01
*BI 47
Genetics
01-02 V
*BI 85 Biological and Social Context of Human Disease 01-02 V
Braun
*SIT Australia: Environmental Field Study Seminar 01-02 VI
*SIT Australia: Natural & Cultural Ecology Seminar 01-02 VI
BI 106 Cell Biology and Biotechnology
02-03 VII
Heywood
_________________________________________________________________
*carries biology concentration credit.
Doll
Gorun
Leith
Bear, Stein
IV
Coleman
Tatar, Landy
Notes on Course Changes:
-I have repositioned PL 178 and UC 49 to count for biology AB and independent AB credit,
moving BI 192.3 and BI 85 to count only for biology AB credit, rather than for both
concentrations, as was originally planned.
-The changes in SIT Australia credit are bureacratically complex, but represent no change in
content from the original plan. When I designed the proposal, SIT listed its courses as:
-Cultural Studies.
4 credits.
-Marine Ecology.
4 credits.
-Rainforest Ecology.
4 credits.
=
-Independent Study Project. 4 credits.
=
Total
16 credits.
=
1 Brown credit
=
1 Brown credit
1 Brown credit
1 Brown credit
=
4 Brown credits
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration
When I arrived in Australia, the course listings had been reorganized, with no major changes in
content, as:
-Environmental Field Study Seminar.
4 credits.
= 1 Brown credit
-Natural and Cultural Ecology Seminar. 6 credits
=1.5 Brown credits
-Independent Study Project.
6 credits
= 1.5 Brown credits
Total
16 credits
=4 Brown credits
Therefore I would like to propose the following accreditation scheme for my SIT Australia
coursework:
-EFSS
-NCES
-ISP
Total
=
1 Brown credit
Biology. AB
=
1 Brown credit
Biology. AB
0.5 Brown credit
Productions of Biol. Knowledge. AB
=
1.5 Brown credits
Productions of Biol. Knowledge. AB
=
4 Brown credits
2 for Biology AB
2 for Productions of Biological Knowledge AB
I have coursework and syllabi from SIT Australia if the committee needs them for approval. My
Independent Study Project was an ethnography of Aboriginal artists from a science studies
perspective—studying knowledge systems, particularly around ecological questions, based on
interviews with artists, scholars and activists.
-ES 172 focused on race and class based disparities in the toxic burden to which communities are
exposed. The course approached this topic with an examination of the ways in which knowledge
about risk is produced, and the ways in which local and state knowledge interact and conflict.
The material and the approach contributed strongly to my broader inquiry into biological
knowledge, while applying directly to concerns of social justice.
-ED 192 and ED 191 have been my thesis preparation credits, taken in the Education Department
because my faculty sponsor Chris Amirault is a professor in that department.
-EL 190.7, Twentieth Century Reconceptions of Scientific Knowledge is a critical survey of the
founding texts of the fields of science studies and the philosophy of science. Authors read
include Fleck, Popper, Kuhn, Foucault, Bloor, Latour, Harding, Smith and Haraway. This is an
advanced seminar that provides a strong theoretical foundation for science studies, complements
my thesis well, and provides a type of capstone for my coursework. It is taught by Barbara
Herrnstein Smith, a scholar in science studies, and replaces the “Independent Reading Course” I
intended to take to fulfill the same purposes.
Brady Dunklee—Proposal for Independent Concentration