Science Policy for Scientists & Engineers
CHM 501 – Spring 2010
Tuesdays, 3:00-4:15 – PSH 230
Ira Bennett
Ira.bennett@asu.edu
Interdisc B, 350B
Jonathan Posner
Jonathan.posner@asu.edu
ERC 307
Jamey Wetmore
Wetmore@asu.edu
Interdisc B, 350A
Participation in Seminar – The primary component of the course will be the seminar. It is
imperative that you not only attend the seminars but that you also engage and participate in the
seminars as well. To emphasize this, a significant part of your grade (40%) will be based on your
engagement in the seminar. This includes not only attending class, but participating in
conversation and asking questions as well. You may be assigned specific responsibilities to
facilitate discussion.
Critical Analysis – In order to participate in conversation well, you’ll need to prepare. This means
more than simply reading the required articles. You’ll need to reflect on them as well. As part of
this reflection, for each class you will write up 3 questions that will help us to explore the
readings in class. These questions will count for 20% of your overall grade.
News Article Presentations – In addition to the assigned readings, on a regular basis we will also
briefly discuss a recent popular news article that explores an interesting angle on some issue in
technology and society. Each student will be responsible for submitting one article during the
semester. You will need to post the article to blackboard two days before class is held and lead a
brief discussion about it at the beginning of class. Feel free to be creative. You can include a link
to a website or short video and encourage the class to view it. But you must post a one to two
page document on blackboard. We will only hold people responsible for reading the document
you post. This exercise will count for 20% of your overall grade.
The Amish Experience – Around spring break we’ll be doing a short exercise based on the Amish
use of technology. We’ll first read an article about the Amish and then you will be asked to
spend a day taking on some aspects of an Amish person’s life. Afterwards you’ll be asked to
write up a one to two page reflection of your experiences. This will make up 20% of your grade.
Course Outline
January 19th – Introduction
January 26th – Dan Sarewitz, “The Rightful Place of Science,” Issues in Science and Technology, Summer
2009.
February 2nd – E.M. Forster, “The Machine Stops,” Oxford and Cambridge Review, November 1909,
pp. 83-122.
February 9th – Cynthia Cockburn “Caught in the Wheels: The High Cost of Being a Female Cog in
the Male Machinery of Engineering.” In The Social Shaping of Technology: How the Refrigerator got its
Hum. ed. by Donald MacKenzie and Judy Wajcman, Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1985,
pp.55-65.
February 16th – Clark Miller and Ira Bennett, “Thinking Longer Term about Technology: Is there
value in Science Fiction-Inspired Approaches to Constructing Futures,” Science and Public Policy
Oct 2008, 597-606.
February 23rd – The Man in the White Suit (1951) Directed by Alexander Mackendrick (85 min.)
March 2nd – Jean-Francois Blanchette and Deborah Johnson, “Data retention and the panoptic
society: The social benefits of forgetfulness,” The Information Society 18(1):1-13 (January/February
2002).
March 9th – Jameson M. Wetmore, “Amish Technology: Reinforcing Values, Building
Community,” IEEE’s Technology & Society Magazine 26(2), June 2007, pp. 10-21.
 Spring Break March 13 – 21st – Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 
March 23rd – The Amish Experience – writing assignment due
March 30th – The omnipresence of technology
April 6th – “Industrial Society and Its Future” – excerpts
April 13th – Star Trek day
April 20th – Susan E. Cozzens, “Building Equity and Equality into Nanotechnology,” in Susan E.
Cozzens and Jameson M. Wetmore (eds.) The Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society, vol. II: The
Challenges of Equity, Equality, and Development, Springer, 2010.
April 27th – Simpsons day
May 4th – Kathleen M. Vogel, “‘Iraqi Winnebagos of death’: Imagined and realized futures of US
bioweapons threat assessments,” Science and Public Policy, Oct. 2008, 561-573.