HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY

School of Arts and Sciences

General Education Department

COURSE OUTLINE: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY (9STS)                                                                                                                      Faculty:   DR. JOSEPHINE D. YABUT

1st Semester, SY 2020-2021

Holy Angel University VM

Vision:  To become a role-model catalyst for countryside development and one of the most influential, best-managed Catholic universities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mission:  To offer accessible quality education that transforms students into persons of conscience, competence and compassion.

School of Arts and Sciences VM

Vision:  To serve as an avenue for developing students' learning competencies within and across the many disciplines of human inquiry, particularly in mass media and psychology,  attaining excellence in instruction, research and community development.

Mission: To produce professionally competent, morally upright, socially responsive and spiritually mature persons through holistic and transformative liberal education

Core Values:

1. We embody Christ-Centeredness.
2. We reflect Integrity.
3. We exemplify Excellence.
4. We are a community.
5. We engage with Societal Responsibility

Program Learning Outcomes Common to All

Upon completion of the course, the students should be able to:

1. Engage in lifelong learning and be cognizant of the need to keep abreast of the developments in the specific field of practice (PQF level 6 descriptor)
2. Effectively communicate orally and in writing using both English and Filipino
3. Work effectively and independently in multidisciplinary and multi-cultural teams (PQF level 6 descriptor)
4. Recognize professional, social, and ethical responsibility
5. Appreciate “Filipino historical and cultural heritage” (based on RA 7722)

Course Learning Outcomes (Per Subject)

1. Articulate the impacts of science and technology on society, specifically Philippine society
2. Explain how science and technology affect society and the environment and its role in nation-building
3. Analyze the human condition in order to deeply reflect and express philosophical ramifications that are meaningful to the student as a part of society
4. Define and demonstrate the impact of social media on the students’ life and Philippine society in general
5. Imbibe the importance of science and technology in the preservation of the environment and the development of the Filipino nation
6. Critique human flourishing vis-à-vis the progress of science and technology such that the student may be able to define for himself/herself the meaning of the good life
7. Foster the value of a healthy lifestyle toward the holistic and sustainable development of society and the environment
8. Creatively present the importance and contributions of science and technology to society
9. Examine shared concerns that make up the good life in order to come up with innovative and creative solutions to contemporary issues guided by ethical standards
10. Illustrate how the social media and information age impact their lives and their understanding of climate change

Course Description:

The course deals with interactions between science and technology and social, cultural, political, and economic contexts that shape and are shaped by them. (CMO No.20, series of 2013)

This interdisciplinary course engages students to confront the realities brought about by science and technology in society. Such realities pervade the personal, the public, and the global aspects of our living and are integral to human development. Scientific knowledge and technological development happen in the context of society with all its socio-political, cultural, economic, and philosophical underpinnings at play. This course seeks to instill reflective knowledge in the students that they are able to live the good life and display ethical decision making in the face of scientific and technological advancement.

This course includes mandatory topics on climate change and environmental awareness.

Course Credit: 3 Units

 Prerequisite: NONE

 Textbook: Science, Technology and Society. 

 Requirements:

                Quizzes, Activities and Reflection papers, Active participation in group and/or individual discussion/exercises/workshops, Research output, Major Examinations

COURSE OUTLINE:

REFERENCES:

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY Required Readings and Other Materials

• Anderson, Philip W. “More is Different—One More Time,” in More is Different: Fifty Years of Condensed Matter Physics, ed. N. Phuan Ong and Ravin N. Bhatt, Princeton University Press, 2001.
• Balakrishnan, Janaki and B V Sreekantan, eds. Nature’s Longest Threads: New Frontiers in the Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology, World Scientific, 2014.

• Caoli, Olivia. “A History of Science and Technology of the Philippines,” in Analysis of Conditions for National Scientific and Technological Self-Reliance: The Philippine Situation, Quezon City: University of the Philippines, 1986.

• Dayrit, Fabian. “Sustainable Development: An Evolving Paradigm for the 21st Century,” in Stellar Origins, Human Ways: Readings in Science, Technology, and Society, ed. Ma. Assunta Cuyegkeng, Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2011.
• Ecker, David J. Germ Catcher, Scientific American, 2014.
• Floridi, Luciano. The Fourth Revolution: How the Infosphere is Reshaping Human Reality, Oxford University Press, 2014.
• Feynman, Richard. “The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: What Is and What should be the role of scientific culture in modern society” in The Best Short Works of Richard Feynman, pp. 97–115, Perseus Books,1999.
• Gripaldo, Rolando. “The Concepts of the Public Good: A View from the Filipino Philosopher” in The Making of a Filipino Philosopher and Other Essays, pp. 82-100, National Bookstore, 2009.

• Heidegger, Martin. The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, HarperCollins, 1982.
• Hickel, Jason. “Forget ‘developing’ poor countries, it’s time to ‘de-develop’ rich countries,” The Guardian, Online: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/sep/23/developing-poor-countries-de-develop-rich- countries-sdgs.

• Lehrer, Jonah. How We Decide, Mariner Books, 2010.
• Maboloc, Christopher Ryan. “Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing” in Ethics and Human Dignity, 15-23, Rex Bookstore, 2010.
• McNamara, Daniel J. in “A Return to the Beginning,” in Stellar Origins, Human Ways: Readings in Science, Technology, and Society, ed. Ma. Assunta Cuyegkeng, Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2011.

• Rodriguez, Socorro M. “Philippine Science and Technology: Economic, Political and Social Events Shaping Their Development,” 1996

• Von Baeyer, Hans Christian, Information: The New Language of Science, Harvard University Press, 2005.

Suggested Readings

• Agro-ecology: What it is and what it has to offer? Is this the future of farming?
• Alan Turing: The Enigma” (Andrew Hodges and Douglas Hofstadter)
• Aristotle, Nichomachean ethics, Book VI and Book X
• Article: “Environmental Impacts of Nanotechnology and Its Products” (Zhang et. Al Proceedings of the 2011 Midwest Section Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education, 2011)

• Article: “Nanoethics: The ethical and Social Implications of Nanotechnology” (Patrick Lin and Fritz Allhoff, Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 2007)

Expectations from students:

The student’s responsibility is to come to each class prepared.  He/She is also expected to take all examinations on the date scheduled.  He/She is also expected to attend each class and participate actively in the discussions.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

All students are expected to be academically honest. Cheating, lying, and other forms of immoral and unethical behavior will not be tolerated. Any student found guilty of cheating in examinations or plagiarism in submitted course requirements will (at a minimum) receive an F or failure in the course requirement or in the course. Plagiarism and cheating refer to the use of unauthorized books, notes, or otherwise securing help in a test; copying tests, assignments, reports or term papers; representing the work of another person as one’s own; collaborating without authority, with another student during an examination or in preparing academic work; signing another student’s name on an attendance sheet; or otherwise practicing scholastic dishonesty.

POLICY on ABSENCES:

The allowed number of absences for college students enrolled in a 1-hour class is a maximum of 10 absences and 7 absences for a 1-1/2 hour class-based on student handbook. Request for excused absences or waiver of absences must be presented upon reporting back to class. Special examinations will be allowed only in special cases, such as prolonged illness. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor her own tardy incidents and absences that might be accumulated leading to a grade of “FA.” It is also his/her responsibility to consult with the teacher, chair, or dean should his/her case be of special nature.

GRADING SYSTEM:

Grading Scheme: 70% Class Standing & 30% Major Examination(s)

        General Education Subject: 50% Passing