Class 15 (April 20) - Thinking About Science
Welcome
Welcome back to something like normality. I hope you are all okay. Today we’re going to catch up and get back into the swing of things. We have 10 more sessions together, so we need to talk about how to use them well.
Check-in
First, we’ll check in. In your breakout groups, you can chat about the following:
- How you are doing since the earthquake
- What your current situation is
- What issues you are facing in your courses at Parami
- What you hope for in the next few weeks.
Essay
Next, we need to talk about assessment. I have graded all the essays that I had until yesterday. So I need to know where everyone else is up to. I’ll do a poll to find out!
Other assignments
For your upcoming assignments, we are still required to do a presentation assignment, and a final essay. I am not going to set another quiz. The presentation will be an on-paper (PDF) presentation, not an in-class presentation. The essay will be shorter than planned.
Planning the coming weeks.
Of the coming 9 sessions, we have a bunch of different topics we can explore. But we don’t have time to cover everything. I’ll show you the original course outline. This week, we’ll finish up our work on science as a way of knowing, with a paper by Patricia Fara, which I’ll assign for homework. But after that, the options are open. So let’s talk about what you would like to do?
- Spend several weeks talking about Robin Wall Kimmerer — an indigenous writer who brings together science and indigenous knowledge
- Spend several weeks talking about Siri Hustvedt — a novelist with an interest in philosophy, cognitive science, and how the brain works.
- A mash-up of both of these things!
Science and Philosophy
For the rest of this session, let’s look at the Carlo Rovelli piece. I’ll share it on the screen, and we’ll talk through it. Then we can maybe do some exercises to explore some of the themes.
Homework and next time…
Read Patricia Fara! I’ll share the piece on Canvas.