History 285: Science, Technology, and Society: 1940 to the Present
Completed: A
The enterprise of science changed dramatically after WWII, both intellectually and socially. The consequences of being able to split the atom and, more recently, to engineer biological blueprints have made science literally a life and death activity that touches every human. This course will explore the growth and implications of scientific and technological development from the end of WWII to the present. There will be two lectures and one discussion per week. Students will work in small groups on one problem during the term, e.g., energy, pollution, global warming, health care issues. Each group will hand in a jointly written report at the end of term and present a class report. Three or four books will be assigned reading. Students will be expected to make use of e-mail and conferencing.
Fall 2002, Professor Nick Steneck, Discussion Instructor Pete Soppelsa.
This was an excellent class that I thoroughly enjoyed. The class did not have any major assignements asside from the an individual book/film report and a group term report. Professor Steneck is a great instructor that provided a positive classroom experience along with great information. Pete did a really great job of leading the discussion section. I would recommend both as teachers of any class. The course material started with the advent of modern science steming from WWII and the polio vaccine and progressed through the environmentalism movement in the 60s and 70s and the Regan years and up to the present.
For the book/film report, I chose to do THX-1138 because it covered the topic of science, technology and society. THX-1138 was orginally a short by George Lucas in his film school years circa 1976. It was subsequenly made into a full length film in a joint venture between George Lucas and Frances Ford Coppela.
Film Review: "THX-1138: A Lost Film" Plot Summary and Critical Analysis. (PDF - 188KB)
The term paper was a joint term long project project between Kate Maher, Michael Pollina, and I. We were required to write a paper and make a presentation that encompases the following directives:
- identifies the key decision or decisions that need(s) to be made
- provides sufficient and appropriate background information that would allow a member of the Public to make an intelligent decision about the decision or decisions, and
- presents recommendations on an appropriate course of action and explains why other courses of action are not appropriate.
We chose to investigate the current electrical energy policy (reguarding supply and distribution) in the United States and make recommendations for a safe, long-term sustainable and environmentally compatible energy policy.
Group Term Paper: Energy Policy for the 21st Century and Beyond. (PDF - 114KB)
Notice:
Information provided on this page is a result of undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. Material may be copyrighted by the University of Michigan, James Glettler, and/or the various co-authors noted in group projects. Finished assignments are offered only for reference.