New England Workshop on Science and Social Change

The annual New England Workshop on Science and Social Change (NewSSC) is an innovative, interaction-intensive workshop designed to facilitate discussion and longer-term collaboration among college faculty who teach and write about interactions between scientific developments and social change.

Premises of NewSSC

Specific objectives of NewSSC

Spring 2005 Workshop, " How complexities of the social environment shape the ways that society makes use of knowledge about 'genetic' conditions"

Even in cases where the condition has a clear-cut link to a single changed gene [see example below], the socially conditioned pathways of change in behavioral or medical conditions over individuals' lifetimes-their biosocial development-have to be taken into account to know the various things different people can do. Bringing more attention to such implications of genomics and related developments in genetics is an important area for science and technology studies.

Consider the case of phenylketonuria (PKU). Many teachers about biology in its social context invoke the case of PKU to demonstrate that "genetic" does not mean unchangeable. Until the 1960s people with the PKU gene always suffered severe mental retardation. But now the brain damage can be averted through detection of newborns with high levels of the amino acid phenylalanine followed by a special phenylalanine-free diet. Yet, as Diane Paul's (1997) history of PKU screening shows, the certainty of severe retardation has been replaced by a chronic disease with a new set of problems. Although screening of newborns became routine quite rapidly, there remains an ongoing struggle to secure health insurance coverage for the special diet and to enlist family and peers to support PKU individuals staying on that diet. For women who do not maintain the diet well and become pregnant, high levels of phenylalanine adversely affect the development of their non-PKU fetuses. A more complex picture of development in a social environment is needed for anyone to make use of the knowledge that the fate of individuals with the PKU gene is not determined at birth. Moreover, if STS scholars and others want to contribute to improving the lives of people affected by PKU, we need to consider where we are prepared to get involved-around insurance policy, ethnic diversity in diet, support groups for PKU individuals, measures to promote dietary compliance in teenagers and fertile women, services for babies affected by their PKU mothers, and so on.

Location: Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole MA, USA
April 21, 9am - April 24, 12pm


Organizer: Peter J. Taylor, University of Massachusetts Boston, Programs in Science, Technology and Values and Critical and Creative Thinking.
Facilitator: Tom Flanagan
Participant-Evaluator: Steve Fifield

(arrangements)

Participants (as of 3/29/05)

João Arriscado Nunes, Sociology, U. Coimbra, Portugal
Betsy Campbell, Urban Studies, MIT
Steve Fifield, Educational Research, U. Delaware
Tom Flanagan, U. Mass Boston
Vivette García Deister, UNAM, Mexico
Jinnie Garrett, Biology, Hamilton College
Rick Jensen, Functional Genomics Unit, U. Mass. Boston
JoAnn Oravec, Information Technology, U. Wisconsin, Whitewater
Diane Paul, History of Genetics, U. Mass. Boston
Peter Taylor , Science, Technology & Values, U Mass Boston
Ken Waters, Philosophy of Science, U. Minnesota

Sections to follow or to be added in due course

Adjustments relative to previous workshops

Precirculated materials

Papers, manuscripts, weblinks

João Arriscado Nunes Steve Fifield Vivette García Deister Jinnie Garrett Joanne Oravec Peter Taylor

Notes towards possible sessions/activities

  • Diagramming of Intersecting Processes (a teaching activity under development)

    Profiles of Participants

    (Use password-protected link above to view resources that participants shared during the workshop.)

    João Arriscado Nunes

    I got a first degree in History at the University of Porto and a PhD in Sociology at the University of Coimbra. My early research focused on the history of peasant agriculture, demography and family sociology, with an ongoing interest in the sociology of knowledge.
    After getting my PhD, I moved into Science and Technology Studies. I completed two long-term projects based on an ethnography of a cancer research laboratory in Portugal, and was involved as a researcher or as coordinator of the Portuguese teams in several national and European collaborative projects on globalization and science, on science, technology and governance, on the regulation and public perceptions of biotechnology, on public debate and participatory technology assessment and on public understanding of science.
    Between 1998 and 2001, I was coordinator of the Portuguese team of the international project "Reinventing Social Emancipation", funded by the Macarthur and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundations, hosted by the Center for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra and directed by Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The project, involving over 60 researchers from six countries ( Brazil, Colombia, South Africa, Mozambique, India and Portugal), studied local responses to neoliberal globalization and the emergence of solidaristic, alternative forms of globalization, and included case studies on participatory democracy, alternative forms of economic activity, multicultural citizenship, rival knowledges, biodiversity and intellectual property and emerging forms of transnational trade-unionism. The results are in the process of publication in five countries (Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Britain and Italy) and four languages (English, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian).
    My current research interests focus on: a) social studies of biomedicine and public health, in particular the enactments of cancer in oncobiological research; the management of uncertainty in tumor pathology; health and environment; a sociological history of helicobacter pylori; b) the regulation of the life sciences and biomedicine (in particular medically assisted reproduction and research on human embryos); c) public participation in debate and deliberation on matters related to science, health and the environment. I am a member of the steering committee of the European network ITEMS (Identifying Trends in European Medical Space), funded by the European Union.
    Besides being a professor of sociology at the University of Coimbra (teaching in both the graduate and the undergraduate programs) and a senior researcher at the Center for Social Studies (CES), an interdisciplinary research center of the same University, I am active in training courses for environmental protection officials, activists and members of the Civil Protection Agency, as well as in initiatives in science education.

    Selected publications
    2003a. "From Bioethics to Biopolitics: New Challenges, Emerging Responses"
    2003b. "The uncertain and the unruly: Complexity and singularity in biomedicine and public health"
    2002, "Risk, uncertainty and innovation in biomedicine"
    "The play of environmental and genetic susceptibility and the differential ecologies of stomach cancer"
    1998, Ecologies of Cancer: Constructing the "Environment" in Oncobiology, Oficina do CES, 133.
    1997, Shifting Scales, Articulating Cancer: Towards a Cartography of Oncobiological Research, Oficina do CES, 98.
    (All available online at www.ces.fe.uc.pt)
    2001, "A síndrome do Parque Jurá ssico: História(s) Edificante(s) da Genética num Mundo `Sem Garantias´", Revista Crítica de Ciencias Sociais, 61: 29-62.
    Boaventura de Sousa Santos and João Arriscado Nunes, 2003, "Introdução: Para Ampliar o Canon do Reconhecimento e da Diferenca", in Boaventura de Sousa Santos (ed.), Reconhecer para Libertar: Os Caminhos do Cosmopolitismo Multicultural, Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 25-68 (English version available at www.ces.fe.uc.pt/emancipa).
    João Arriscado Nunes and Maria Eduarda Goncalves (eds.), 2001, Enteados de Galileu? A Semiperiferia no Sistema Mundial da Ciencia, Porto: Afrontamento.

    Betsy Campbell

    I am a Fellow at MIT where my work examines exchanges between experts and non-experts, particularly as they influence the diffusion of scientific and technological advances. Projects have included: a cross-boundary collaboration to introduce the voices of communities in economic distress into the high-tech innovation process; and a citizens' bioethics engagement to unpack the attitudes, values and influences that shape lay people's understanding of the ethical boundaries of stem cell research. I've also facilitated a seminar (an Independent Activities Period course) on the Narratives of Bioethics at MIT.
    Prior to MIT, I held market analysis and communications roles with Lucent Technologies, Harcourt Online, Aeon (in Japan) and, most fondly, with two high-tech companies that I had founded. I currently serve as a board member or advisor to Harvard Alumni Startups, my local chapter of the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Career Resources Project of the Educational Development Center. I am a frequent speaker on topics of team transformation and resilience, cross-boundary conversations and the archeology of the near east.

    Tom Flanagan

    Tom Flanagan works for the Environmental Business and Technology Center at UMass Boston. His specialty is collaborative process, specifically in the area of corporate collaboration for new product development. Tom has an MBA from the Sloan School at MIT, a doctorate in neuroscience from Wesleyan University, and several patents in the biomedical device field. In the healthcare sector, he founded and led operating teams within start up companies nationally and internationally.

    Steve Fifield

    I am interested in how school science curricula are shaped by broader culture(s), and how science education, in turn, mediates the ways we understand ourselves in relation to science. One of the ways I'm exploring this is through the experiences of gay, lesbian and bisexual student and novice teachers as they negotiate their sexualities while they learn how to be teachers. The manuscript I submitted to the workshop website explores the sometimes trying encounters of a gay student teacher with the heteronormativity of high school culture and biology curricula, and how he conceived of a place for himself in "the natural way of things" by viewing his sexuality as rooted in genetics. I offer a skeptical view on 'coming out' as a way to claim one's identity and counter cultural norms, and I wonder about the epistemological possibilities of being a sexual stranger. Consistent with the theme of the workshop, I am interested in how people use science to make sense of themselves and in what becomes of science in the process. I would like to use this workshop as a springboard to develop a project that examines historical trends in scientific and popular discourses around psychology and genetics, and the ways that lesbians and gays have made sense of themselves in relation to cultural norms of heterosexuality.
    I came to these interests through BA and MS degrees in biology and evolutionary ecology, respectively. At the University of Minnesota, I was happily drawn away from Ph.D. studies in science to science studies through wonderful interactions with people like John Beatty, Helen Longino, Ron Giere, and Ken Waters. At Minnesota, I completed a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, with a minor in Studies of Science and Technology. I then went to the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware to teach future high school science teachers. After several years in that position, I moved to the University of Delaware Education Research and Development Center, where I work on education program evaluation and education policy analysis.
    Like last year, I will be a participant-evaluator in the workshop. I'll try to document and understand something about the workshop environment, our interactions with one another, and the ideas that we develop. You can view the evaluation of last year's workshop at http://www.stv.umb.edu/newssc04eval2.html.

    Vivette García Deister

    I am currently a PhD student in the Philosophy of Science program at UNAM (Mexico's National University). The Institute for Philosophical Research is where I spend most of my time, attending seminars and discussion groups in diverse topics. Although my main interest is in philosophy of biology (more specifically, how theoretical perspectives provide resources for explaining development), I am exploring the literature in search of notions that may constitute a common ground for evaluating the ways in which "complex" phenomena in the biological, cognitive and social domains are explained. Exploring different notions of modularity, contingency and constraints (for example) in these domains, may shed some light on the types of causal images and units of explanation (that is,explanatory resources) that are at work in each domain and, perhaps more interestingly, on how their explanatory stories overlap.

    Institutional research projects I participate in:
    "Evolutionary and teleological explanations of mind and language."
    "Philosophy of scientific practices."
    "Science and representation: a historical and philosophical approach."

    Other institutional ties:
    Student Representative 2003-2005: International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB)
    Co-organizer of Future Directions in the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology Workshop (FDISH 2004). Summary of activities and photo gallery

    Jinnie Garrett

    I am a professor in molecular genetics teaching at a liberal arts college in upstate New York. My 'official' research area is in the regulation of nitrogen uptake and metabolism in yeast. However my teaching and research interests have broadened considerably over the years to include many areas at the interface of science and society particularly with issues that can be addressed through pre-graduate science education.
    I am very concerned with multiple issues in the successful communication of science, principally modern genetics, within all audiences and participants. In 1998, I organized an interdisciplinary conference called "Communicating Science", held here at Hamilton College. The aim of the conference was to define the obstacles to successful communication of science in all levels of exchange (within the science community, in science education, and with the public) and to suggest solutions. The conference website gives the full program and the proceedings were published in a special issue of Science and Engineering Ethics in October 2000 (contents listed below).
    Since the conference, I have worked extensively as an advocate of improving the quantity and quality of bioethics education in the science curriculum so that future scientists will better trained to deal with, and more empathic towards those impacted by, the social and ethical issues that may arise as a result of their work. This semester I have been even more directly engaged in a consideration of how people with physical, mental and social 'differences' (disorders, syndromes), many of which have a genetic basis, are treated by the scientific/medical community and society itself, through teaching a sophomore seminar called 'Freaks'. I team taught this course with a philosopher and we discussed philosophical and biological definitions of a 'normal' human being and then considered how changing the individual's 'environment' might change our perspective. For example, a dwarf was a highly prized possession in the courts of medieval Europe, a freak in the freak shows of a century ago, and a genetic condition to be avoided (through selective abortion or preimplantation diagnosis) now. Soon, we expect to be able to 'cure' many forms of dwarfism through somatic or germline gene therapy. Many people view gene therapy as 'unnatural' - will we view those 'cured' by gene therapy as more or less 'freaky'? (course description and examples of student work )
    I remain firmly committed to the position that it is the responsibility of those of us engaged in teaching genetics (or any science) to scientists, doctors and other professionals to ensure that our students can effectively engage in a discussion of the impact of genetics on society. I intend to keep working in this direction and I was very excited to see the announcement of the NewSSC workshop as I believe I could both learn and contribute a great deal if accepted as a participant.

    Relevant Publications:
    Garrett, J.M and Bird, S.J. 2000. Ethical Issues in Communicating Science. Science and Engineering Ethics. 6, 435-442.

    Zaikowski, L and Garrett, J.M. 2004. A Three-tiered Approach to Enhancing Bioethics Education". Bioscience, 54 (10), 942-947.

    Booth*, J.M. and Garrett, J.M. 2004. Instructor's practices in, and attitudes towards, teaching ethics in the genetics classroom. Genetics 168, 1111-1117.


    Courses taught:
    Introductory Biology - Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Genetics sections
    Bio248 - Genes and Genomes
    Bio448 - Seminar in Molecular Genetics
    Soph222 - Freaks
    Soph 268 - Social Movements: the Environment.


    The proceedings of the conference I organized at Hamilton College called "Communicating Science" were published in:

    Science and Engineering Ethics Volume 6, Issue 4, October 2000
    Editorial
    Editorial Overview: Ethical Issues in Communicating Science
    Jinnie M. Garrett and Stephanie J. Bird, 435-442.
    Papers
    Normative Orientations of University Faculty and Doctoral Students Melissa S. Anderson, 443-461
    Commentary on "Normative Orientations of University Faculty and Doctoral Students" (M. S. Anderson)
    Diane Hoffman-Kim, 463-465.
    Transforming Science Curricula in Higher Education: Feminist Contributions Bonnie Spanier, 467-480.
    Commentary on "Transforming Science Curricula in Higher Education: Feminist Contributions" (B. Spanier)
    Bonnie Shulman, 481-484.
    Talking about Race in a Scientific Context. Frances S. Chew, 485-494.
    Talking and Teaching about Human Biological Variation: Commentary on "Talking about Race in a Scientific Context" (F. S. Chew) Fatimah Jackson, 495-508.
    The Politics of Certainty: Conceptions of Science in an Age of Uncertainty. Carl A. Rubino, 499-508.
    Commentary on "The Politics of Certainty" (C. A. Rubino)
    Sheldon Krimsky, 509-510.
    The Golem: Uncertainty and Communicating Science. Trevor Pinch, 511-523.
    Talking about Science—Commentary on "The Golem: Uncertainty and Communicating Science" (T. Pinch). Sheila Jasanoff, 525-528.
    Seeds of Discontent: Expert Opinion, Mass Media Messages, and the Public Image of Agricultural Biotechnology
    Susanna Hornig Priest and Allen W. Gillespie, 529-539.
    Commentary on "Seeds of Discontent" (S. Hornig Priest and A. W. Gillespie). Lisa N. Geller, 541-542.
    Improving the Scientist/Journalist Conversation
    JoAnn M. Valenti, 543-548.
    Why Scientists Should Cooperate With Journalists
    Boyce Rensberger, 549-552.
    Making the Audience a Key Participant in the Science Communication Process Carol L. Rogers, 553-557.

    Roderick Jensen

    Excerpt from UMass Boston press release:
    As the debate over the use of embryonic stem cells heats up in Massachusetts, there is a wealth of research potential in adult stem cells, according to a professor and genomics researcher at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

    "Our lab is very interested in measuring large-scale gene expression in stem cells, either adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells," said Roderick Jensen, the Alton Brann Distinguished Professor of Physics, Biology, and Mathematics. "This allows us to understand how stem cells, or progenitor cells, transform to terminally-differentiated cell types, like heart cells, liver cells, or brain cells."

    Jensen, who also directs the Center for Environmental Health Science and Technology (CEHST) at UMass Boston, has a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Princeton University. UMass Boston is currently conducting large scale gene expression studies of normal human cell types and adult human stem cells.

    "There is still a great deal to be learned about adult stem cells and their characteristic patterns of gene expression, and how they transform into tissues," said Jensen. "Our lab at UMass Boston is very interested in exploring these scientific questions, both for adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells."

    Jensen's laboratory is a functional genomics laboratory, called the Biotechnology Center at UMass Boston. The laboratory was previously at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. It was relocated to UMass Boston in December.

    "One of the major activities of this laboratory is measuring large scale gene expression, the differences in normal human cells and tissues," a vital component to the advancement of stem cell research, Jensen said.

    JoAnn Oravec

    I have written extensively and engaged in public outreach in science policy and information sciences, with an emphasis on social and ethical approaches to information technology. My fields of specialty include group and community applications of computing, weblogs, business telecommunications, health and education informatics, and social networking as well as more traditional computing, web design, and artificial intelligence approaches. I have also recently conducted research and published on such topics as knowledge management, privacy, security, and trust (a research statement is attached). I have an MBA and have published research on the social and economic aspects of distance education. I have taught in schools of public policy as well as business and have public service experience in the privacy arena. I have served as a "critical thinking consultant" for Wisconsin Public Television, also developing the book "Interactions in Science and Society."

    I am currently an Associate Professor (with tenure) in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, teaching information technology and communications as well as women's studies ("women and high tech"). At UWW I won two college-wide awards for being the top researcher (2000 and 2004) as well as several teaching awards. I received my MBA, MA, MS and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Later in 2005 I will be a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University, where I will be lecturing and writing on social networking issues.

    I previously taught computer information systems and public policy at Baruch College of the City University of New York and also taught in the School of Business and the Computer Sciences Department at UW-Madison (with a specialty in artificial intelligence), as well as Ball State University. In the 1990s, I chaired the Privacy Council of the State of Wisconsin, the nation's first state-level council dealing with information technology and privacy issues. I have written several books (including "Virtual Individuals, Virtual Groups: Human Dimensions of Groupware and Computer Networking," Cambridge University Press and "Home as Information Space: Electronic Commerce and the Domestication of Computer Networking," forthcoming) and more than five dozen articles and book chapters on public policy, computing technology, and related issues. I have worked for public television, consulted for companies such as Motorola, and developed software along with my academic ventures.

    1. Internet and Computer Technology Hazards: Perspectives for Family Counselling, British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 28(3), 2000, pp. 309-324.

    2. On the "Proper Use" of the Internet: Self-help Medical Information and On-line Health Care, Journal of Health and Social Policy, 14(1), 2000, pp. 37-60.

    7. Integrating Privacy Studies into Teacher Education Curricula, Information Technology and Teacher Education, 8(1), 1999, pp. 55-70.

    8. On-line Medical Information and Service Delivery: Implications for Health Education, Journal of Health Education, 31(2), Mar/Apr 2000, pp.105-10.

    13. The Transformation of Privacy and Anonymity: Beyond the "Right to Be Let Alone," Sociological Imagination, 39(1), Spring, 2003, 3-24.

    15. Emerging Roles of Counselors in On-line Counseling, California Association for Counseling and Development (CACD) Journal, Volume 20, pp. 41-48.

    16. On-line Counselling and the Internet: Perspectives for Mental Health Care Supervision and Education, Journal of Mental Health, 9(2), 2000, pp. 121-135.

    19. Teaching Risk Assessment, Business Education Forum, October, 2000, 55(1), pp. 39-45.

    Diane Paul

    Excerpt from UMass Boston alumni magazine:
    A summer diversion from teaching and writing about taxation and political theory opened up a rich, if unlikely, area of study for UMass Boston political science professor Diane B. Paul, winner of this year's Chancellor's Distinguished Scholarship Award. "Back in 1975, I signed up to work and study at the UMass Field Station on Nantucket Island," says Paul. She wanted to enjoy the summer break from political science by pursuing her longtime interest in natural history.

    At the field station, she mended nets, washed bottles, collected algae, and even cooked for the group, not realizing that the experience would alter the trajectory of her professional life. Energized by the experience, she returned to Boston in the fall to continue teaching political science and to enroll, herself, in introductory courses in biology and related subjects. She would sometimes encounter her own political science students as classmates in these courses.
    As she studied this new field, her interest grew. "Each time, I told myself that I would just take one more biology course, but I couldn't stop," she says. She was prompted to make "a radical shift" in the direction of her research. She recalls, "I was up for tenure and knew that I would have to find some connection." She found this link in the study of politics and heredity, and especially in the troubled history of eugenics.

    Now, years later, she has written two books (Controlling Human Heredity: 1865 to the Present and The Politics of Heredity: Essays on Eugenics, Biomedicine, and the Nature-Nurture Debate), edited one book (Thinking about Evolution: Historical, Philosophical, and Political Perspectives), and authored 100 book chapters, journal articles, book reviews, papers, and other publications.

    The field offers many opportunities for research. First defined in 1883, "eugenics" describes any program that attempts to improve human genetic stock, either by limiting the procreation of those with so-called "undesirable" genetic qualities or by encouraging those with "desirable" traits to multiply. For many, the term evokes images of Nazi death camps in Germany or reports of forced sterilization programs here in the United States.

    Today, few would seek to identify themselves with these kinds of eugenics movements. However, questions raised by early eugenicists endure as modern technology enables greater control over the genetic makeup of the next generation. The discussion of "desirable" and "undesirable" genetic traits continues under a new system of genetic counseling and individual choice. Paul's research traces the history of eugenics and provides an evenhanded look at the movement from society-driven eugenics movements to more individualized efforts.

    "When Professor Paul began her investigations of genetics and related topics, it was an unusual choice for a political scientist," says Interim Chancellor David Mackenzie. "Now, however, it is clear that her work addresses matters that are fast becoming central issues of public policy."

    Peter Taylor

    I joined the Critical and Creative Thinking (UMass Boston in the fall of 1998 and have been enjoying new challenges teaching experienced educators, other mid-career professionals, and prospective K-12 teachers. Working in the CCT Program also provides opportunities to promote reflective practice in ways that extend my contributions to ecology and environmental studies (ES) and social studies of science and technology (STS). In those fields I focus on the complexity of, respectively, ecological or environmental situations and the social situations in which the environmental research is undertaken. Both kinds of situation, I argue, can be characterized in terms of "intersecting processes" that cut across scales, involve heterogeneous components, and develop over time. These cannot be understood from an outside view; instead positions of engagement must be taken within the complexity. Knowledge production needs to be linked with planning for action and action itself in an ongoing process so that knowledge, plans, and action can be continually reassessed in response to developments -- predicted and surprising alike. In this spirit, ES, STS, and critical pedagogy/reflective practice have come together for me in a project of stimulating researchers to self-consciously examine the complexity of their social situatedness so as to change the ways they address the complexity of ecological and socio-environmental situations. Through collaborations in and beyond the College of Education I also seek to promote a vision of critical science and environmental education that extends from improving the teaching of scientific concepts and methods to involving citizens in community-based research. Recently, I have begun to take these interests in a new direction through historical and sociological analysis of social epidemiological approaches that address the intersections of environment, health, and development.

    This project had its beginnings in environmental and social activism in Australia which led to studies and research in ecology and agriculture. I moved to the United States to undertake doctoral studies in ecology, with a minor focus in STS. Subsequently I combined scientific investigations with interpretive inquiries from the different disciplines that make up STS, my goal being to make STS perspectives relevant to life and environmental students and scientists. Critical thinking and critical pedagogy became central to my intellectual and professional project as I encouraged students and researchers to contrast the paths taken in science, society, education with other paths that might be taken, and to foster their acting upon the insights gained. Bringing critical analysis of science to bear on the practice and applications of science has not been well developed or supported institutionally, and so I continue to contribute actively, to new collaborations, programs, and other activities, new directions for existing programs, and collegial interactions across disciplines.
    Further elaboration of this work

    Selected relevant publications
    (1997) "Teaching Philosophy," http://www.faculty.umb.edu/peter_taylor/ goalsoverview.html
    (1998) "Natural Selection: A heavy hand in biological and social thought," Science as Culture, 7 (1), 5-32.
    (2001) "Distributed agency within intersecting ecological, social, and scientific processes," in S. Oyama, P. Griffiths and R. Gray (Eds.), Cycles of Contingency: Developmental Systems and Evolution. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 313-332.
    (2003a) "Non-standard lessons from the 'tragedy of the commons'," pp. 87-105 in M. Maniates (Ed.), Empowering Knowledge: Teaching and Learning Global Environmental Politics. Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield.
    (2004) " What can we do? -- Moving debates over genetic determinism and interactionism in new directions," Science as Culture, 13 (3): 331-355.
    (2005) Unruly Complexity: Ecology, Interpretation, Engagement. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, forthcoming.

    Ken Waters

    I am writing a book on gene-centered sciences such as genetics, genomics, and molecular biology. I think a number of cultural factors lead to inflated accounts of gene-based knowledge, including the way gene/DNA talk is inflated when used to express ideas from various ideological and theological traditions (Nelkin and Lindee's chapter, "Sacred DNA" was an eye-opener for me). As a philosopher, I am especially concerned with the way mistaken assumptions about the nature of scientific knowledge lead champions and critics alike to mistaken interpretations of the nature of the knowledge (or alleged knowledge) and to mistaken accounts of why biologists center attention on genes. I believe my account of gene-based science, which explains the success as well as the limitations of the knowledge, provides a basis for a more nuanced and realistic understanding.

    After I complete the academic book, I plan to rewrite my central ideas for science teachers. My goal is to help science teachers understand the way gene-based explanations and investigations actually work and in doing so understand why the potential explanatory range of gene-based explanations is narrow even though the potential investigative reach of gene-based investigation is broad. My goal isn't to debunk the science. I think gene-centered investigations work, and I explain why they work. I think when we understand the real reason why gene-centered sciences work, however, we will also see why that success does not depend on inflated accounts of what genes can do.

    Selected relevant publications
    Current research

    Why Genes are the Center of Molecular Biologists' Attention" (book-length project supported by a NSF Scholar's Award for 2003-04 academic year and two summers to complete research for a book length project.)

    Books
    Scientific Pluralism , volume XIX of the Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, edited with Stephen Kellert, Helen Longino, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. [jointly edited]

    Julian Huxley: Biologist and Statesman of Science, edited with Albert Van Helden, Houston, TX: Rice University Press, 1993, 344 pages. [jointly edited]

    Articles and chapters
    "What Concept Analysis Should Be (and why competing philosophical analyses of gene concepts cannot be tested by polling scientists), forthcoming, Studies in History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences.

    "What was Classical Genetics?", forthcoming, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science

    "The Pluralist Stance" with Stephen Kellert and Helen Longino, forthcoming, in Scientific Pluralism , volume XIX of the Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, edited with Stephen Kellert, Helen Longino, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. [jointly authored]

    "A Pluralist Interpretation of Gene-centered Biology, forthcoming in Scientific Pluralism , volume XIX of the Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, edited with Stephen Kellert, Helen Longino, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    "Molecules Made Biological", Revue Internationale de Philosophie, 4/2000 -- n 214 -- p. 539 - 64. Condensed and translated: "Le gene moléculaire: la vie réduite, ou les molécules promues?" Biofur, November 2001

    "Genes Made Molecular", Philosophy of Science, 61 (1994), 163-85.

    "Revising our Picture of Huxley", in Julian Huxley: Biologist and Statesman of Science (1993), C. Kenneth Waters and Albert Van Helden (editors), Houston, TX: Rice University Press, pp. 1-27.

    Courses
    Philosophy of biology (upper level undergraduate course).

    Ph.D. Seminar in philosophy of biology: I teach a variety of topics. I co-taught the seminar once with John Beatty on the concept of balance of nature which led us to social issues and I am currently co-teaching the seminar with Evelyn Fox Keller on gene-centrism.

    Science, Technology, and Society: I have never taught this course, but I would like to teach a version on genetics and society.

    Program

    (as it emerged after participants shared their interests and developed activities)

     

    Wednesday, April 20 -- Arrivals

     

    Time

    Activity

    Purpose

    5:00-7:00

    Arrive at Woods Hole, Swope Hall Check in

    Early arrivals ask for directions to dinner places, Captain Kidd etc.

     

    7.00--

    Dinner & Social (Captain Kidd)

    time for conversation for those who want to participate.

     

    Thursday, April 21 - Exposing diverse points of potential interaction

     

    Time

    Activity

    Purpose

     

    Breakfast (freelance in Woods Hole)

     

    9:00

    Welcome & initial activity (guided freewriting)

    Peter Taylor

     

    Welcome people to workshop, explain details that need to be covered, talk about your hopes for workshop

     

    Autobiographical Introductions

    Peter T will go first to model

    Tom Flanagan – will keep time & record on flip charts

    Give participants an opportunity to

    1. introduce themselves in narrative depth, their current and emerging work, and
    2. learn more about each other

    12:45

    Lunch

     

     

    2:00

    Autobiographical Introductions (cont.)

     

     

    3.00

    Reflection on autobiographical Introductions

    Tom F leads participatory affinity group exercise on overlaps & tensions

    Review, reinforce and deepen an understanding of the scope of experience that has come together.

    4.00

    Activity: Prepare an initial guide to resources to which we’d like other participants to have access. (Included on password protected site.)

    Peter T. to collate these into a webpage.

    Although our experience and expertise cannot come anywhere near covering the range of intellectual, educational, and activist approaches to the workshop’s theme, we can bring each other’s attention to resources that might enrich our conversations during the workshop .

    This activity will model how we can work together during the rest of the workshop

    4.30

    Reflection on the day

    Introduce themes to chew on concerning our interactions and process as a group

    5:30

    Break

    Recover

    6:30

    Dinner (bought in from a restaurant)

     

    7:00

    Entertainment – depictions of science and scientists in popular culture (incl. Donna Haraway reads National Geographic)

    Everyone welcome to bring images or videos cued to a scene we could discuss.

     The evening sessions are designed to facilitate ways of knowing that aren’t necessarily text-based.

     

     

    Friday, April 22 - Focus on detailed case study & Excursion for informal conversations

     

    Time

    Activity

    Purpose

    9.00

    Check-in

     

    9:00

    Autobiographical Introductions for late arrivals

     

    9:45

    Discussion with Diane Paul on her article re: PKU

    http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/research/fed/tfgt/appendix5.htm (read as homework before this session)

    Each person describes how their inquiry connects with the case described

    Exploring commonalities & differences around a specific case

    10.45

    Break

     

     

     

     

    c. 1:00

    Picnic Lunch & Excursion – a walk on the beach

    Conversation among participants, reflection on emerging ideas, enjoy the day

    4:00

    Return

     

    4:15

    Generative evaluation (Sense of pace map & Question: “I didn’t expect to be thinking about…”) leading into planning of activities for next two days

    Steve Fifield will facilitate

    Move from evaluation of what has happened to ideas of what could yet happen to participants taking initiative to make things happen, including planning activities for day 3 & morning of day 4

    5:30

    End

     

    6:30

    Dinner (bought in from a restaurant)

     

    ~8:00

     Bedtime reading

     Participants read passages, poems

     Participants bring articles, passages, poems, picture

     

     

    Saturday, April 23 - Activities to engage each other in our projects

     

    Time

    Activity

    Purpose

    8.45

    Participant-generated Activity I: > Diagramming of Intersecting Processes (a teaching activity under development)

    (activity based on Paul’s article)

    Peter Taylor will

    1.  circulate description of activity prior to workshop & as homework

    2.  have guide sheets for diagramming intersecting process

    3.  facilitate process

     

    Tom Flanagan will debrief process

     

    Introduce process/ teaching technique for thinking about complex issues of development of individuals and science-in-society

     

    Model how we can experiment & get help with our experiments

    10:30

    Break

     

    11:00

    Activity II: Communicating science

    (based on three versions of a research article on X chromosomes, imprinting, and gender differences in social skills)

    Jinnie Garrett brought articles

     

    12:30

    Lunch & Long break

    Long break for conversation, catching up, walking, reflecting, reading

    3.30

    Activity III: Debate about assisted reproduction

    João & Vivette lead

     

    4.45

    Activity IV: Use of humor in social responses to science

    JoAnn leads; Tom assists

     

    6.00

    End

     

    7

    Activity IV (cont.) Humor skit (Monty Pythonesque visit to genetic doctor)

     

    Learning together: Making Music Guest facilitator: Ben Schwendener, http://gravityarts.org

     

    Exploring other ways of knowing and/or working together

     

    Sunday, April 24 -- Activities to engage each other in our projects (cont.) & Taking stock of the experience

     

    Time

    Activity

    Purpose

    8:30

    Activity V – Construct a genetics & society syllabus

    Steve leads off; Ken takes notes

     

     

     

    10:00

    Break

    Pack up & clean up

    10:15

    Dialogue Process (group stock-taking)

    Written Evaluation (response to previous year’s comments & to reviews of subsequent grant proposal)

    Review what people found innovative, important, helpful; what they would like to change

     

    11:15

    What we are taking away to chew on & Appreciation & Something to be developed
    (poem by JoAnn

     

    11.45

    End

    ending time adjusted to ensure return to Boston to catch planes; lunch on the road

     


    Last update 4 Sept. 05