85032 - Social Studies of Sciences (1)

Learning outcomes

The lectures and the tools provided bring students to examine, using original texts and documents, some key questions concerning the role of science and technology in contemporary society.

Course contents

Science and technology cultures are fundamental in understanding reality and ourselves, in addition to guaranteeing our survival as a species. In defense of science and technology cultures, we will understand how a scientific fact is constructed, and what it means to say that science is a (social) culture. In particular, the case study we will focus on will be the evolution in time of the scientific fact called “women’s inferiority”.

A quote by 1965 Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman (1918-1988) addressing school teachers will be the thread of the course: “What science is, is not what the philosophers have said it is […] As a matter of fact, I can also define science another way: Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts” (What is Science?, 1969).

It will be in that perspective, shared by many scientists, that we will deal with some of these queries: Why is our relationship with science and technology oftentimes controversial? Are science and technology good or bad? Why is it the case that, in Italy in particular, science is denied status as a culture? What are the consequences of such instances in the educational setting, and consequently in the economic and social settings?

Besides, what distinguishes countries in which girls perform as well as or even better than boys in maths - according to PISA data - from countries in which girls still show persistent difficulties in maths? According to OSCE data, there is a worldwide feminization of schools: What effects does this phenomenon have on girls’ performance in maths ?

Lessons will start on 25 September 2019.

Readings/Bibliography

The following program is the same for attending and non attending students, including students of the Erasmus program.

1. Texts and PowerPoints posted (during the course) on the e-learning platform, including: 1/A: Bruno Latour, La scienza in azione. Introduzione alla sociologia della scienza, Edizioni di Comunità, Torino, 1998, pp. 3-81. Italian edition out of print; with the author's permission, a pdf copy of the introduction and of chapter 1 will be available on the e-learning platform; 1/B: Eredi di Laura Bassi. Docenti e ricercatrici in Italia tra età moderna e presente, a cura di M. Cavazza et. al., Milano, Angeli, 2014, pp. 9-36 e pp. 142-174. 

2. L’avventura del progetto IRRESISTIBLE. Insegnanti, studenti ed esperti a confronto […], a cura di M. Venturi, Bononia University Press, Bologna, 2018 [152 pp].

3. P. Govoni, Che cos’è la storia della scienza, new and expanded edition, Carocci, 2019.

Teaching methods

Inquiry-based learning.  An active participation is highly recommended. 

Lectures will be alternated by one field trip.

At the end of the course, students who attended the lessons will be able to take a written pre-exam on class discussions and on the field experiences (up to a maximum of 3 points).

Assessment methods

Oral exam: this consists of two or three questions, stemming from a freely chosen topic.

Students will be tested on their knowledge of the course’s bibliography, as well as on their ability to reason in a logical, concise and personal way. The accuracy and precision of the student’s way of expression will also be taken in consideration.

For further information, please consult my teaching website and the educational guidelines here (Regolamento didattico).

Teaching tools

PowerPoint; e-learning tools; science museums.

Office hours

See the website of Paola Govoni