About the courseThis class is founded on the idea that the science and human society are interwoven. Too often in classes students only learn about subjects according to their discipline. Students are not exposed to connections between ideas and disciplines. In the world in which we live, these are false barriers. In this class we use historical case studies to bridge the gap between scientific and social worlds.
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The Approach |
We do a lot of group work and focus on figuring out how science works and how it has developed over time.
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The Units we cover |
Unit 1: What is evidence and how is it used in History & Science?
For example: we examine how ancient cultures explained the world around them. In this context, we examine ancient Greece, pre-modern non-Greek societies, and the rise of "Modern European" science. Unit 2: Looking In: From Atoms to the Body In this unit we examine how scientists look inside into the unseen, from atomic physics to human health. We examine how the atom has been represented and used (for example, in the Manhattan Project), the role of DNA in helping understand identity and its role in modern food production of GMOs, and the ways in which germs have been understood and how social structures have labeled and either helped or perpetuated illness.= Unit 3: Looking Out: From Land to the Universe In this unit we will examine how scientists theorize about the big and the seen, how they make sense of the big and complex world around us. In this unit we explore how units of analysis and “grain size” shape how scientists come to model their world. We begin by examining Darwinian evolution and its role in shaping ideas about race and ethnicity, the construction of nature and society's interaction with the environment (especially as it related to urban design). Unit 4: Final Projects & Independent Research The final unit will take place during the 4th quarter. Students will investigate a contemporary scientific or societal issue that intersects the hard sciences and the social sciences and unpack it on their own. Students will pick their own topics and investigate and share them at end of year. |