HONS-MAC Seminar 3:
Science and Technology in New York
“There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking”
attributed to Joshua Reynolds, displayed by Thomas A. Edison, quoted in The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011).
CUNY John Jay College
Professor:
David Munns
Office Location:
8.65.10 NB
Office Hours:
Wed, 1:40-2:55pm
Phone Number:
(646) 557-4496
Email:
dmunns@jjay.cuny.edu
CLASS TIME: 2:55pm-5:40pm Room: New York City! (and 8.67NB)
Course Description
Science Forward is a skills-based course that will focus on scientific thinking in the context of a variety of different
fields of science. The goal of this course is to have students develop their Science Sense.
Science Sense is...
being able to distinguish science from non-science.
the ability to recognize how people collect and process facts into knowledge.
the ability to recognize how a collection of facts becomes knowledge
being able to question and evaluate information that is presented as scientific
being an informed consumer, evaluator, and practitioner of science
We will focus on the specific skills that allow one to have good Science Sense. These skills fall into broad categories:
Number Sense, Data Sense, and Knowledge Sense.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will hone their Science Sense during this course, specifically:
- o Students will acquire a proper sense of scale and be able to make order of magnitude estimates with reasonable
assumptions.
- o Students will understand and get experience with measurement and data collection through activities in the field and
be able to create and communicate their results using graphs and basic statistics.
- o Students will become familiar with proper experimental design and the practice of scientific inquiry.
- o Students will understand that science makes progress and changes through time based upon newly available
evidence.
Students will practice their critical thinking skills and employ reasonable skepticism.
Students will learn how to communicate science to different audiences through two group projects.
Students will leave this course with an appreciation for the similar set of skills employed by scientists in
seemingly disparate fields of scientific inquiry.
Texts:
Scott Gabriel Knowles, The Disaster Experts (U.Penn Press, 2013)
http://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Experts-Mastering-America-TwentyFirst/dp/0812222466/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403757465&sr=11&keywords=knowles+disaster+experts
Fischhoff Baruch, Risk: a Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2011).
http://www.amazon.com/Risk-Short-Introduction%C2%A0%C2%A0-SHORTPaperback/dp/B008NY6ZGS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428609614&sr=81&keywords=risk+very+short+intro
Mark Essig, Edison and the Electric Chair (Walker Books, 2009)
http://www.amazon.com/Edison-Electric-Chair-Mark-Essigebook/dp/B002WC6HL0/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403757250&sr=8-1spell&keywords=edison+and+the+lectroc+chair
Judith Leavitt, Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health (Putnam, 1996)
http://www.amazon.com/Typhoid-Mary-Captive-PublicsHealth/dp/0807021032/ref=la_B001IU0K56_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403757433&sr=1-1
Above ALL you need a driven curiosity
Papers:
Class Attendance and Participation. (15%) (essentially 1% per day per participation) One
excused absence.
1st Homework (5%): Due Sept 9th.
1st Task (5%): Due Sept 9th.
First Paper: (25%): Due Oct 28th.
TOPIC: How did “risk” shape the formation of the systems of electrical generation and supply
OR fire in the United States in the late 19th century? NB: consider either fire or electricity. In your
answer, make sure you consider the situated meanings of “risk” by detailing how certain institutions
shaped those meanings and indeed the very knowledge that shaped those meanings.
Final Paper (55%): Due Mon Dec 15th @ 5pm.
No late assignments will be accepted.
Policy on Attendance, Etiquette, and Participation:
• Attendance is mandatory; Punctuality is polite; An open and inclusive attitude of critical academic inquiry and
discourse is expected at all times. All arguments will be respected, and respectfully challenged.
• It is inappropriate, and inconsiderate to use your cell phone for any reason in class time. Please switch off your
cell phone.
• All reading assignments are to be done before class, and participation in class discussion is expected.
 The Undergraduate Bulletin (p. 43) states that “students are automatically considered excessively absent and are
not eligible for passing grades” if they exceed two weeks’ worth of classes (whether meeting once or twice a
week).
 The course emphasizes reading, debating, and writing skills that are essential to university graduates. There are no
notes available, and few lecture handouts. YOU are expected to take notes, and then share and compile notes with
your fellows. Practice in note-taking is like practicing the piano: you only learn by doing. Essays and exams can
be considered similarly. You should write, and then re-write your essays. The readings are, in reality, only the
beginning. They will be focused on in discussion, and used as a springboard in many lectures. You should be
taking notes on the readings, and deepening your knowledge of the historical issues through more reading. The


best way to test your knowledge of the lecture and reading material is via discussion in class. Eventually, when
you have that job-interview for that job that you are doing your major classes to get, and you have to make a
presentation to the company, do you think that they will give you the job for merely “showing up”? No. They will
be listening to your arguments, and reading your explanations about why they should spend money on you. In
short, the ability to recall information is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to future success. Whereas
reading, writing, and argument – the skills you get in this course - are both necessary and sufficient conditions.
It is the idea of “work”. “Work,” in science, is defined as the force times the distance: W=F.d . If you strain to lift
a weight, but it doesn’t move, no “work” has in fact been done. If you push a stalled car, and it doesn’t move, no
“work” has been done. Likewise, if you show up to class but don’t move anyone with your arguments, no “work”
has been done. “Work” is not just the application of effort (that is necessary but not sufficient); “work” is when a
distance is moved because of the effort!
NB: everyone has problems either settling on a topic, or finding material, or starting, or finishing, or
all of the above! The idea is to be able to identify your problem and work through it with guidance. If
you need assistance outside of these times, please don’t hesitate to email me your question in detail,
and I can answer or schedule a meeting, or point you in the right direction, or all of the above!
Office Hours:
I have listed my office hours at the top of the syllabus—please come visit if you have any questions
about course requirements, the things we talk about in class, the readings and assignments, study
strategies, John Jay, special concerns, letters of recommendation, graduate school, or anything else. I
am here to help you succeed.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person's ideas, research or writings as your own. Here are
some examples of plagiarism:
 Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes
attributing the words to their source
 Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging the
source
 Using information that is not common knowledge without acknowledging the sources
 Failing to acknowledge collaborators on homework and laboratory assignments
 Submitting downloaded term papers or part of term papers, paraphrasing or copying
information from the Internet without citing the source, and "cutting and pasting" from
various sources without proper attribution.
In order to ensure that you clearly understand what plagiarism is, you MUST complete a graded
online tutorial and quiz through Blackboard. Please note that Blackboard automatically checks all
your writing for plagiarism, and that a single act of plagiarism—or any other form of academic
dishonesty—can result in a failing grade for the assignment or the course. Please see me if you have
any questions about this.
Grades:
In accordance with CUNY policy, your grade in this course will reflect the following scale:
A
B
C
D
F
Excellent (90-100%)
Good (80-89%)
Satisfactory (70-79%)
Passing (60-69%)
Failure/Unsuccessful Completion of the Course (less than 59%)
What I Expect From You and What You Can Expect from Me:
This syllabus spells out exactly what this course requires. In order for you to get the most out of the
semester I expect you to review this syllabus on a regular basis, complete the readings and
assignments punctually, check your John Jay email regularly, come to class ready to learn, and
participate thoughtfully and respectfully in all our discussions. In turn, I will be clear about my
expectations, avoid wasting your time or giving you busy work that serves no purpose, answer all
your questions about the requirements and material, grade your work fairly and promptly, and
provide you with everything that you need to succeed in this course.
Course Schedule
Wed Sept 2nd:
Introduction:
What is “Science”? What is the “science sense” we hope to develop?
1.
2.
3.
4.
How do you make a Pencil?
What is “Risk”?
What is “knowledge” and what is “epistemology”?
How are claims “proven”? “legitimated”?
Homework: what are the issues at stake in the following video?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPv1UV0rD8U
Sept 9:
DO: Look over the web-story, ’10 Algorithms that dominate your life’
http://io9.com/the-10-algorithms-that-dominate-our-world1580110464/+whitsongordon?utm_content=bufferde673&utm_medium=social&utm_source=faceboo
k.com&utm_campaign=buffer
TASK for class: Investigate one algorithm of interest to explain when called on in class, how it works
and what it does.
READ: Knowles, The Disaster Experts, Introduction.
PREPARE: Think about what elements would be incorporated into an Algorithm of Risk?
Sept 16: Fischhoff Baruch, Risk: a Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 1972), p. 1-64.
Sept 23 : No CLASSES SCHEDULED AT John Jay College.
Sept 30:
149.
Fischhoff Baruch, Risk: a Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 1972), p. 65-
Oct 7
Case Study 1: Typhoid Mary
READ: Leavitt, Typhoid Mary, chapts
PREPARE: Think about what elements would be incorporated into an Algorithm of Disease Risk?
Oct 14:
Case Study 2: The Electric Chair
READ: Essig, Edison and the Electric Chair, chapts 6-9; 11-13; 15; 23.
PREPARE: Think about what elements would be incorporated into an Algorithm of Death Penalty
Risk?
Supplementary Reading: Prof Evan Mandery, A Wild Justice: the death and resurrection of capital
punishment in America.
http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Justice-Resurrection-CapitalPunishment/dp/0393239586/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403761846&sr=81&keywords=evan+mandery
Oct 21
Case Study 3: Industrial Disasters and Fire
READ: Knowles, The Disaster Experts, Chapter 2. PLUS
PREPARE: Think about what elements would be incorporated into an Algorithm of Fire Risk?
Oct 28
No Class meeting because: 1st paper due.
TOPIC: How did “risk” shape the formation of the systems of electrical generation and supply OR
fire in the United States in the late 19th century? NB: consider either fire or electricity. In your answer,
make sure you consider the situated meanings of “risk” by detailing how certain institutions shaped
those meanings and indeed the very knowledge that shaped those meanings.
Nov 5
What is a Disaster?
READ Knowles, The Disaster Experts, Chapter 5.
PREPARE: What aspect of Risk are you going to investigate?
Nov 12
Getting started on your project. Need pairs …
Nov 19
Project. Con’t.
Nov 26
Meetings to Discuss your topic, methods of investigation, data collection, etc
Dec 3
Class Presentations : receive comments from 2 peers.
Dec 10:
TBA: Macauley Poster Day and presentations …
Final Posters due
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Some histories of particular things
Alan Macfarlane & Gerry Martin Glass: A World History, (London, 2002).
Henry Petroski, The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance, (New York, 989).
Mark Kurlansky Salt: A World History, (London, 2001).
Witold Rybczynski, One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw, (New York, 2000.)
Alison J. Clarke Tupperware: the Promise of Plastic in 1950s America, (Washington, 1999).
Robert Friedel, Zipper: An Exploration in Novelty, (New York, 1994).
Henry Petroski, The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips
and Zippers-Came to Be As They Are, (New York, 1992).
Some studies of things in use
Siegfried Giedion, Mechanization takes Command: a contribution to anonymous history (1948)
Ruth Schwartz Cowan, More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to
the Microwave (1985).
Christina Hardyment, From mangle to microwave: the mechanization of household work. (1988).
Ronald R. Kline, Consumers in the Country: Technology and Social Change in Rural America (2000).
David Nye, Electrifying America: Social Meanings of the New Technology, 1880-1940 (1990).
Jeffrey L. Meikle, American Plastic: A Cultural History (1995).
C. Fischer, America Calling: A Social History of the Telephone to 1940 (Berkeley, 1992)
K. Jellison, Entitled to Power: Farm Women and American Technology (Chapel Hill, 1993).
Cynthia Cockburn and Susan Ormrod, Gender and Technology in the Making (London, 1993)
C.Chant (ed.), Science, technology and everyday life, 1870-1950 (London, 1989)
Histories of Invention/Technology
Robert Bud et al., Inventing the modern world: Technology since 1750 (Science Museum: London, 2000).
Donald Cardwell, The Fontana History of Technology (London, 1994)
R.A. Buchanan, The Power of the Machine: the impact of technology from 1700 to the present
(Harmondsworth, 1992)
Some histories of US technology
Ruth Schwartz Cowan, A Social History of American Technology (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997)
Carroll Pursell, The Machine in America: A social history of technology (Baltimore, 1995)
David Hounshell, From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932: the development of
manufacturing technology in the United States (Baltimore, 1984)
Some other works of particular interest
T.P. Hughes, Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1983);
David F. Noble, Forces of Production: a social history of automation (New York: Oxford University Press,
1985);
S. Brand, How Buildings Learn: What Happens after they're Built (London: Penguin, 1994).
Brian Winston, Media, Technology and Society, A History: From the telegraph to the internet (London:
Routledge, 1998