Science in Society Laboratories

Seminar (10 ECTS, 3 SWS) - English language

Proshant Chakraborty, Miller Díaz Valderrama (lecturers)

Are you interested in understanding the dynamics of public controversies around science and technology related issues? Do you want to learn to analyze them in an interdisciplinary environment? And what about developing the skills necessary to engage in debates where both scientific knowledge and societal values matter?

What is this course about?

Scientific knowledge and new technologies are changing our society. On the one hand they open up new possibilities to solve societal problems. On the other hand they often raise issues that have to be widely discussed, decided and regulated. Scientists from all disciplines should be capable to participate competently in these discussions.

At the same time, there is hardly any societal debate or political decision-making process that happens without considering scientific expertise. Scientific knowledge is expected to provide orientation and to lead to better solutions. Particularly when it comes to controversial topics, what counts as relevant and reliable knowledge, which societal values should be taken into account and in what ways all of this should be included in political decisions is at stake.

The aim of this course is to develop students' skill to identify actors' positions in controversial societal debates, to systematically analyze their relationship to scientific expertise and, based on this, to develop recommendations. This is a highly valued qualification in many areas of the contemporary labor market (e.g. policy advice, science communication etc.).

This semester, we will explore the following debates:

Data Centers and AI

The dramatic acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to a global increase in data center infrastructures. Given high energy demands and consumption of natural resources like water and rare earth minerals, data centers, and hyperscale data centers in particular, have become the subject of contemporary political and technological controversies around their planning, construction, and operation. This controversy serves as an exemplary teaching case for introducing the method of controversy mapping.

High-Speed Rail (HSR)

Since their introduction in Japan in the 1960s, high-speed rail (HSR) networks—which operate between 200-250 kilometers per hour—exemplify the speed and efficiency of rail-based transportation. At present, HSR networks play a crucial role in efforts toward building sustainable and green infrastructures across Europe and Asia. However, HSR is not without its controversies. For instance, the construction and planning of HSR networks have often been met with local resistance. As HSR projects become central in both green transitions and the infrastructural politics of states and capital, the controversies around them highlight the tensions between transportation planning and policy, railway engineering, scientific practice, and community participation.

Urban Heat

Urban heat is increasingly acknowledged as a pressing problem by policy makers, planners, architects, and citizens. Heat can affect urban infrastructures, individual health and health systems, work and economy, as well as urban nature. The effects of urban heat and the capacity to cope are unequally distributed - between the global south and the global north, as well as within cities and their population groups. Causes, effects, possible solutions as well as questions of responsibility and social justice are controversially discussed.

Drones and Drone Defense

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Drones have become ubiquitous technologies for monitoring and visual capture. Either as new sources for Earth Systems Observations, as surveillance devices for defense and war, or as mundane flying cameras. The promises are manyfold, from increasing the capacities of the Earth and Environmental sciences to gather finer data about ecosystems and inform decision-making for climate change adaptation, to offering cheaper options for military operations. However, they raise intertwined technical, social, and ethical questions, including the data they capture and use, their effects on wildlife in Natural Parks and forests, and their role in the escalation of warfare.

What happens in the course?

In this course students learn - in small interdisciplinary groups - to systematically map a current debate at the intersection of science, technology and society. Step-by-step and in close interaction with the lecturers the students will learn approaches and tools to analyze debates, apply them to a specific case study and receive feedback. They will search for documents, identify positions and conduct expert interviews. They will learn to prepare the results of their analyses in various formats, to present and discuss them. The assumed goal is to advise policy makers and help them to better understand the relationship between value positions and scientific expertise in a debate.

In this seminar we will work in three groups on the debates around the described topics. We consider these debates as our “laboratory” in which the students investigate the interplay of science, technology and society. As a practical demonstration of how to map a specific problem, the Mass Bee Death of honeybees will be used by the lecturers as a guiding example. The case groups will be assigned in order to make the most of the heterogeneous backgrounds of the students.

Tutorial support is integrated into the course and will be provided throughout the semester.

This semester the course will be held in English.

What will students learn in this course?

concepts and tools to analyze the interplay of science, technology and society
the application of these new skills in working on specific debates at the intersection of science, technology and society
techniques of searching for, assessing and preparing information
techniques and forms of presentation
thinking and collaborating in interdisciplinary spaces
the ability to reflect on one’s own disciplinary perspective and on the responsibility of science in society
the ability to understand and assess the entanglement of societal values and scientific expertise in the debates

How will the students be graded?

Preparation of the readings and active participation in class	20%	assessed individually
Mapping and documentation of a debate along specific work assignments (in groups)	45%	assessed as group work
Writing a contribution addessed to a broader public	20%	assessed individually
Keeping a lab book	15%	assessed individually

Attendance is compulsory, in all sessions of the seminar as well as in all compulsory tutorials.
The grading of the course is based on the separate assessment of different tasks on a scale of 1-5.

When and where will the course be held?

For schedule & venue please see u:find.

How many students can participate and how can I apply?

The course is open for 15 students. The registration has to be done via u:space within the stated period.

For which study programs can I complete the course?

The course can be completed for modules in different study program:

In the master programs Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, as well as in the master program Chemistry & Technology of Materials the course can be attended in the „(Free) Electives“; in the MA Food Chemistry in the "Elective Module". Please note: as part of the '(free) electives' in your studies, only one of the two labs (Science Communication OR Science in Society) is creditable per person, not both. In case of questions concerning one of the three master programs of SPL 27 please contact the director of the study program.
In the master program Development Studies the 10 ETCS can be completed in the "VM1-9 Block of Elective Modules".
In the master program Earth Sciences 10 ECTS will be approved in "Individual Electives" (MA-ERD-17.0), and in Environmental Sciences as a "free choice course".
In the master program in Mass Media and Communication Science, the 10 ECTS can be completed within the VERIN module (Individual Specialization).
In the master program Molecular Microbiology, Microbial Ecology and Immunobiology the 10 ECTS credit points can be completed in the Elective Module Additional Scientific Skills for Biologists (=WZB) without the need for further inquiry with the study program director. For recognitions in the MA Molecular Biology, please get in touch with the director of the study program.
In the master program Nutritional Siences the 10 ECTS credit points can be completed for the Group of compulsory modules: Individual Specialisation. For recognitions beyond that, please contact the study program director.
In the master program in Political Science you can complete the course for "M12 Elective Area".
In the master program Social and Cultural Anthropology you can complete the course for the "Interessensmodul" (Other Courses).
In the master program Sociology you can complete the course for the module 'M5'.

The course can also be attended outside a specific curriculum. If you have further questions please contact the respective study program director.

If you have further questions, please contact the respective study program director.