Members of the Professorship in Science and Technology Studies have taught a variety of different courses since the Professorship’s founding.
Winter Semester 2021/22
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Students and Other Knowers in Context
(Course Number 00LE62V-LAS-CO0020)
The central part of the course introduces students to a broad consideration of knowledge in its historical, social, political and practical contexts. This will be the most academic part of the course, with academic readings and much sociological theory. Drawing on work in the history, anthropology, and sociology of knowledge, the course addresses knowledge production, appropriation and circulation beyond academia, in and across (non-academic) professional fields, educational systems, regions, cultures, individuals, and in knowledge regimes.
The course aims at fostering reflection about questions such as, How do individuals or groups approach, appreciate, and determine what knowledge is for them? What counts as knowledge, why, and on what grounds; where, for whom, and in what context? What has counted as knowledge in previous centuries, in other places and situations? What is (or what was) the relationship between scientific knowledge and knowledge that is (or was) not deemed scientific, as, for example, common sense knowledge, or the knowledge of non-academic professional fields, or knowledge produced and used by political entities?
Furthermore, we will discuss different forms of knowledge, such as explicit and tacit knowledge; how knowledge relates to identity building or to professional ethos; and how knowledge relates to power.
The course also fosters reflection about epistemic beliefs, or “personal epistemology:” That is, how humans (including ourselves) use, evaluate, cherish and question knowledge in their daily lives, how they relate emotionally to specific forms of knowledge, and how they deal with uncertainties. One specific focus will be “the knower” as an imagined reality and subjectivity. How do humans understand themselves as subjects of knowing? What kind of knower do they believe to be, or aspire to become? How do they ascribe or deny others the status of a knower? How do they evaluate other individuals as knowers?
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt / Dominic Lammar: Science in Context
(Course Number 00LE62V-LAS-CO0017)
Science and technology are defining characteristics of our world. But how is scientific knowledge made, how are technologies developed? What impacts do these have on our lives and the lives of others, and in what ways do human choices shape scienceand technology?
This course explores science and technology not as bodies of knowledge or collections of artifacts, but rather as social practices and processes. In it, we will examine the interrelationships among science, technology, and society in historical and contemporary contexts, with the aim of better understanding the embeddedness of scientific and technical activities within society.
Because Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an eclectic and wide-ranging field of inquiry that resists clean theoretical summary, the course will not be organized as a tour of major canonical theories within science and technology studies. Instead, lectures will explore how STS can help provide a deeper understanding of all-too-easily taken-forgranted categories in public discourse, such as “science,” “technology,” “bodies,” “nature,” “experts,” and “disciplines.” Throughout our discussion, we will nonetheless highlight important schools of thought within STS as we draw on sources in the history of science and technology, the sociology of scientific knowledge, and the anthropology of science and technology.
In workgroups, we will read and discuss a wide variety theoretical and empirical texts that interrogate science and technology as social phenomena. In addition, the course will also focus on the idea that STS can be a productive avenue for public engagement, and students will participate in projects meant to use insights from STS as a way to inform public debates.
Summer Semester 2021
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Genetic Studies of Vulnerable Populations
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-CO0044)
Among the approaches to study common diseases in clinical trials and phamaco-genomic research, genetic factors play a crucial role. But genetic rare diseases have also been a core interest of research in human medical genetics in the past three decades. The reasons for this interest are complex. As monogenic diseases are typically rare, there is less pressure to find therapeutical solutions than for common diseases. There are also only very few individuals to address as research subjects. However, on the other hand, the genetic factors of those rare genetic diseases and the related dysfunctional effects are oftentimes easier to understand than that of less genetically determined comp
Yet, to find out about the genetic factors contributing to common complex diseases, one needs either a high number of research subjects from general population willing to participate in a clinical study – or a population that is “genetically isolated“ and shows a high prevalence of the disease. The choice of “genetic isolates” for medical studies requires small sample sizes and hence reduced costs for genetic sequencing. This way the “rare” DNA become a source of “biovalue”, a “national resource” and an asset for sequencing consortia and biotechnological companies.
To approach such a „genetically isolated population“, however, means to interpret the historical and social situation of a group under a genetic paradigm and to frame the investigated unit in a problematic language (e.g. “endogamous group at high risk for genetic diseases”). Very often, populations that are considered “genetic isolates” are socially marginalized, have experienced discrimination and persecution in their history and face a number of challenges up until today. If diseases (rare or common) are more prevalent in those communities than elsewhere in society, they often also experience the negative side of health disparities and obstacles in accessing public health systems. In the course, we will address medical genetic studies focusing on one of those „genetically isolated populations” from a variety of perspectives, i.e. from the perspective of the life sciences and from the perspective of the social sciences and humanities. In formed by our interdisciplinary collaborations, throughout the course, we will reflect upon what it means to undertake an interdisciplinary research inquiry. Once registering for LAS students is completed, we will offer free places to students from other study programs.
Winter Semester 2020/21
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Students and Other Knowers in Context
This course consists of one main section and four additional, smaller ones. It is designed as an asynchronous blended learning course, with planned-in encounters between students and instructors, either digital or physical, in the form of discussions and Q&A sessions. The course (including discussions) stretches into the semester break until 15thMarch (final deadline). Students have to attend required and optional units.
The central part of the course introduces students to a broad consideration of knowledge in its historical, social, political and practical contexts. This will be the most academic part of the course, with academic readings and much sociological theory, and drawing on work in the history, anthropology, and sociology of knowledge (and a little bit on educational psychology).
The course aims at fostering reflection about questions such as:How do individuals or groups approach, embrace, value knowledge, and determine what knowledge is for them? What counts as knowledge, why, and on what grounds; where, for whom, and in what context? What has counted as knowledge in previous centuries, in other places and situations? What is (or what was) the relationship between scientific knowledge and knowledge that is (or was) not deemed scientific, as, for example, common sense knowledge, or the knowledge of non-academic professional fields, or knowledge produced and used by political entities?
Furthermore, we will discuss different forms of knowledge, such as explicit and tacit knowledge; how knowledge relates to identity building or to professional ethos; and how knowledge relates to power.
The course also fosters reflection about ignorance, as well as on epistemic beliefs, or “personal epistemology:” That is, how humans (including ourselves) use, evaluate, cherish and question knowledge in their daily lives, how they relate emotionally to specific forms of knowledge, and how they deal with uncertainties. Different than in previous years, however, one specific focus will be “the knower” as an imagined reality and subjectivity. How do humans understand themselves as subjects of knowing? What kind of knower do they believe to be, or aspire to become? How do they ascribe or deny others the status of a knower? How do they evaluate other individuals as knowers? The other course sections discuss Interdisciplinarity, Contextual-Critical-Careful Thinking, and LAS in Higher Education.
Dr. Nicholas Buchanan: An Introduction to Science and Technology Studies
Science and technology are defining characteristics of our world. But how is scientific knowledge made, how are technologies developed? What impacts do these have on our lives and the lives of others, and in what ways do human choices shape science and technology? This course explores science and technology not as bodies of knowledge or collections of artifacts, but rather as social practices and processes. In it, we will examine the interrelationships among science, technology, and society in historical and contemporary contexts, with the aim of better understanding the embeddedness of scientific and technical activities within society.
Because Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an eclectic and wide-ranging field of inquiry that resists clean theoretical summary, the course will not be organized as a tour of major canonical theories within science and technology studies. Instead, lectures will explore how STS can help provide a deeper understanding of all-too-easily taken-for-granted categories in public discourse, such as “science,” “technology,” “bodies,” “nature,” “experts,” and “disciplines.”
Throughout our discussion, we will nonetheless highlight important schools of thought within STS as we draw on sources in the history of science and technology, the sociology of scientific knowledge, and the anthropology of science and technology. In workgroups, we will read and discuss a wide variety theoretical and empirical texts that interrogate science and technology as social phenomena. In addition, the course will also focus on the idea that STS can be a productive avenue for public engagement, and students will participate in projects meant to use insights from STS as a way to inform public debates
Summer Semester 2020
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Foundational Year: Students and Other Knowers in Context
(Course Number 00LE62V-LAS-CO0028)
This course introduces students to a broad consideration of knowledge in its historical, social, political and practical contexts. Drawing on work in the history, anthropology and sociology of knowledge, the course addresses knowledge production and circula- tion beyond academia, as well as knowledge transfers in and across professional fields, educational systems, regions, cultures, and knowledge regimes. It aims at fos- tering reflection about questions such as “What counts as knowledge, and who gets to decide? What has counted as knowledge in previous centuries? What is (or what was) the relationship between scientific knowledge and knowledge that is (was) not deemed scientific, as, for example, common sense knowledge, or the knowledge of non- academic professional fields, or knowledge produced and used by political entities?” It also fosters reflection about epistemic beliefs, or “personal epistemology”: That is, how humans (including ourselves) use, evaluate, cherish and question knowledge in their daily lives, how they relate emotionally to specific forms of knowledge, and how they deal with uncertainties.
This course will be designed with input from the students.
Winter Semester 2019/20
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Science in Context: An Introduction to Science and Technology Studies
(Course Number 00LE62V-LAS-CO0017)
This course introduces students to classical and recent approaches in Science Studies, an interdisciplinary field that draws from anthropology, sociology, political sciences, philosophy, history and cultural studies to explore what counts as scientific knowledge and why, and how science and technology intervene in (and interact with) the wider world.
In the common picture of science, science produces and accumulates scientific knowledge by directly confronting nature, and it makes constant progress because of its systematic method. Different scientists, the common view holds, should perform an experiment similary; scientists should be able to agree on important questions and considerations; and different scientists considering the same evidence should accept and reject the same hypotheses. Accordingly, scientists should be able to agree on truths about the natural world, and contribute to the accumulation of universally valid knowledge.
In contrast, Science Studies scholars have insisted – and the course starts from here
– that science is a thoroughly social activity. It is social in that scientists are members of communities, trained into the thought styles, practices and working routines of these communities and necessarily working with them. Science studies scholars have further emphasized that
• Scientific knowledge bears the stamp of its historical trajectories,
• Scientific knowledge is embedded in practises,
• Scientific knowledge is involved in struggles for power,
• Scientific knowledge is controversial, debated, negotiated, and stabilized,
• Scientific knowledge oscillates between the local and the universal.
In this course, we will discuss the implications of such an approach for considering scientific knowledge, but also for considering the interactions between science and society. The course instructor will introduce — and draw on — her own research on societal implications of population genetic investigations for a more vivid demonstration of these points. The course will allow students to reflect upon their own involvement in science and technology, to develop a critical and nuanced understanding of the role of science and technology in society, and to consider the impact and implications of their own work for society.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: GeneticResearchin Vulnerable Populations: An STS Perspective
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-IN0013)
Doing research in vulnerable populations often means to operate in socially and/or economically deprived communities, in politically tense or charged situations. This requires heightened cultural, societal and ethical sensitivity on the side of researchers. From the perspective of STS, the social sciences and the humanities, knowing the history, the societal and political situation of those communities is necessary in order to contextualize research findings as well as policies drawing upon research.
In this seminar, we focus on genetic research in such populations and ask for its societal implications. Geneticists in this field speak about “genetically isolated populations” and, for a number of reasons, praise them as particularly valuable for studying health risks, population history, and population dynamics. For example, in biomedical research, the choice of “genetic isolates” for studying medically relevant aspects is believed to be advantageous: it requires only small sample sizes and hence reduces the costs for genetic sequencing. This way the “rare” DNA become a source of “biovalue”, a “national resource” and an asset for sequencing consortia and biotechnological companies.
Yet what geneticists call “genetic isolation” often comes with societal vulnerability: Populations that are considered „genetic isolates“ are oftentimes socially marginalized, have experienced discrimination and persecution in their history and face a number of challenges up until today. To approach such a „genetically isolated” and vulnerable population as a genetic research object means to interpret the historical and social situation of a group under a genetic paradigm. This goes hand in hand with framing the investigated group as a population that is separate from the overall society, and in the specific terminology of human genetics (e.g. “endogamous group at high risk for genetic diseases”).
In the course, we will read and discuss literature from the field of STS that highlights the problematic aspects of such genetic research. These problematic aspects include epistemological ones – for example, the representativity of the sample – as well as ethical, societal, political and economic ones. We will contextualize genetic research in vulnerable populations within the academic literature that deals more generally with human population genetics and its societal implications. We will draw on case studies mainly from the Americas, covered in that literature. For the main part of the seminar, we will concentrate on genetic studies focusing on one „genetically isolated population“ from Europe and discuss this strand of research from a variety of perspectives, i.e. from the perspective of the life sciences and from the perspective of the social sciences and humanities. Informed by our interdisciplinary collaborations, throughout the course, we will reflect upon what it means to undertake an interdisciplinary research inquiry.
Summer Semester 2019
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Living Knowledge: An Introduction to Qualitative Research
(Course Number 00LE62V-LAS-CO0028)
This course introduces students to a broad consideration of knowledge in its historical, social, political and practical contexts. Drawing on work in the history, anthropology and sociology of knowledge, the course addresses knowledge production and circulation beyond academia, as well as knowledge transfers in and across professional fields, educational systems, regions, cultures, and knowledge regimes. It aims at fostering reflection about questions such as “What counts as knowledge, and who gets to decide? What has counted as knowledge in previous centuries? What is (or what was) the relationship between scientific knowledge and knowledge that is (was) not deemed scientific, as, for example, common sense knowledge, or the knowledge of non-academic professional fields, or knowledge produced and used by political entities?” It also fosters reflection about epistemic beliefs, or “personal epistemology”: That is, how humans (including ourselves) use, evaluate, cherish and question knowledge in their daily lives, how they relate emotionally to specific forms of knowledge, and how they deal with uncertainties.
In addition to this focus on knowledge, this course also focuses on some basic aspects of academic/scientific work, such as research designs and methodologies. Crucially, it is designed to provide basic insights into, and first experiences with, qualitative methodologies (as complementary to quantitative methods, the basics of which are provided in Dealing With Numerical Information).
LAS students should complete the module Knowledge in Context in their first year.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Colloquium Science and Technology Studies
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-IN0002)
The Chair for Science and Technology Studies (STS) organizes talks, guest lectures and workshops with academics from various fields, from around the world, and from PhD students to professors. The program for each semester will be announced on the Chair’s website and on the blue board next to our door. Students can obtain credit points by attending and actively engaging with these events under specific circumstances.
In addition, the Chair offers Bachelor-, Master- and PhD students various formats of advising and networking, particularly with regard to Science and Technology Studies or History of Science.
Open to students of other programs interested in STS.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Advanced Topics in STS
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-IN0011)
This course deals with advanced topics in the field of Science and Technoloigy Studies. It is highly recommended for students who wish to write their BA thesis in the field of STS, and/or under the supervision of Nicholas Buchanan or Veronika Lipphardt.
A preparatory mandatory meeting will take place on March 26th, 11h, in Veronika Lipphardt’s office.
Dr. Nicholas Buchanan: Science, Technology and Society
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-CO0036)
Science and technology are defining characteristics of our world, all too easy to take for granted. But how do people make scientific knowledge, how do they develop technologies? What impacts do these have on our lives and the lives of others, and in what ways do human choices shape science and technology?
This course explores science and technology not as bodies of knowledge and collections of artifacts, but rather as social practices and processes that happen in particular times and places, among particular cultures of people. In it, we will examine the interrelationships among science, technology, and society in historical and contemporary contexts, with the aim of better understanding the embededness of scientific and technical activities within society. Because Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an eclectic and wide-ranging field of inquiry that resists clean theoretical summary, the course will not be organized as a tour of major canonical “schools” within science and technology studies. Instead, discussions will explore how STS can help provide a deeper understanding of taken-for-granted categories in public and academic discourse, such as “science,” “technology,” “life,” “death,” “health,” “disease,” “the body,” “the environment,” “experts,” and “lay-people.” Throughout our discussion, we will nonetheless highlight important schools of thought within STS as we draw on sources in the history of science and technology, the sociology of scientific knowledge, and the anthropology of science and technology.
The course consists of readings and seminar discusssions, along side several small group projects.
This course may be taken by students who could not participate in Science in Context in winter semester 2018-19.
Portfolio, due 4 weeks after last workgroup session
Recommended Reading: Sismondo, Sergio (2010): An Introduction to STS. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Winter Semester 2018/19
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Colloquium Science and Technology Studies
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-IN0002)
In this Colloquium, we will discuss current research in Science and Technology Studies (STS) and History of Science. Furthermore, we will discuss students’ research projects in these fields. Anybody interested in Science (and Technology) Studies is very welcome. You can only receive ECTS on Studienleistung, there is no Prüfungsleistung. This colloquium is open to anybody interested in STS.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt, Dr. Nicholas Buchanan: Science in Context
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-CO0017)
This course introduces students to classical and recent approaches in Science Studies. To my understanding, STS (Science and Technology Studies) and HPS (History and Philosophy of Science) both contribute to Science Studies. Science Studies is an interdisciplinary field that draws from anthropology, sociology, political sciences, philosophy, history and cultural studies to explore what counts as scientific knowledge and why, and how science and technology intervene in (and interact with) the wider world. It allows students to reflect upon their involvement in science and technology, to develop a critical understanding of the role of science and technology in the world, and to consider the impact and implications of their own work for society.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt, Dr. Mihai Surdu: Rare Genetic Diseases and Vulnerable Populations
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-CO0044)
Among the approaches to study common diseases in clinical trials and pharmacogenomic research, genetic factors play a crucial role. But genetic rare diseases have also been a core interest of research in human medical genetics in the past three decades. The reasons for this interest are complex. As monogenic diseases are typically rare, there is less pressure to find therapeutical solutions than for common diseases. There are also only very few individuals to address as re-search subjects. However, on the other hand, the genetic factors of those rare genetic diseases and the related dysfunctional effects are oftentimes easier to understand than that of less genetically determined complex diseases.
Yet, to find out about the genetic factors contributing to common complex diseases, one needs either a high number of research subjects from general population willing to participate in a clinical study – or a population that is „genetically isolated“ and shows a high prevalence of the disease. The choice of “genetic isolates” for medical studies requires small sample sizes and hence reduced costs for genetic sequencing. This way the “rare” DNA become a source of “biovalue”, a “national resource” and an asset for sequencing consortia and biotechnological companies.
To approach such a „genetically isolated population“, however, means to interpret the historical and social situation of a group under a genetic paradigm and to frame the investigated unit in a problematic language (e.g. “endogamous group at high risk for genetic diseases”). Very often, populations that are considered „genetic isolates“ are socially marginalized, have experienced discrimination and persecution in their history and face a number of challenges up until today. If diseases (rare or common) are more prevalent in those com¬munities than elsewhere in society, they often also experience the negative side of health disparities and obstacles in accessing public health systems. In the course, we will address medical genetic studies focusing on one of those „genetically isolated populations“ from a variety of perspectives, i.e. from the perspective of the life sciences and from the perspective of the social sciences and humanities. Informed by our interdisciplinary collaborations, throughout the course, we will reflect upon what it means to undertake an interdisciplinary research inquiry. Once registering for LAS students is completed, we will offer free places to students from other study programs.
Summer Semester 2018
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Living Knowledge: An Introduction to Qualitative Research (Foundational Year)
(Course Number 00LE62V-LAS-CO0028)
This course introduces students to a broad consideration of knowledge in its historical, social, political and practical contexts. Drawing on work in the history, anthropology and sociology of knowledge, the course addresses knowledge production and circula- tion beyond academia, as well as knowledge transfers in and across professional fields, educational systems, regions, cultures, and knowledge regimes. It aims at fos- tering reflection about questions such as “What counts as knowledge, and who gets to decide? What has counted as knowledge in previous centuries? What is (or what was) the relationship between scientific knowledge and knowledge that is (was) not deemed scientific, as, for example, common sense knowledge, or the knowledge of non- academic professional fields, or knowledge produced and used by political entities?” It also fosters reflection about epistemic beliefs, or “personal epistemology”: That is, how humans (including ourselves) use, evaluate, cherish and question knowledge in their daily lives, how they relate emotionally to specific forms of knowledge, and how they deal with uncertainties.
In addition to this focus on knowledge, this course also focuses on some basic as- pects of academic/scientific work, such as research designs and methodologies. Cru- cially, it is designed to provide basic insights into, and first experiences with, qualita- tive methodologies (as complementary to quantitative methods, the basics of which are provided in Dealing With Numerical Information).
The course consists of four parts:
- In the first half of each weekly lecture, we will discuss historical and contemporary examples of knowledge, along with theoretical perspectives, such as tacit knowing, social constructivist or cognitive theories.
- In the second half of each weekly lecture, we will look into various aspects of aca- demic/ scientific work, such as “How do researchers come to choose an object to study, a research design,” “What does it mean for students to become socialized into a discipline” etc.
- In the workgroups, students will discuss texts and will gain insights into ethnograph- ic methods (e.g. interviews and participatory observation), as applied to the broad topic of “knowledge experiences in everyday life”.
Students must also attend 3 of the 5 meetings of the STS Colloquium, which this semester features world-renowned senior scholars in science and technology studies, who directly engage questions about knowledge relevant to the course. Colloquium meetings include a talk and an open discussion. During weeks with colloquium meetings (see below), regularly scheduled workshops DO NOT MEET.
Students enrolled in an Introduction to Governance workgroup on Thursdays at 16.00 in Block III should plan to attend the talks indicated with an * to avoid scheduling conflicts (note that Introduction to Governance workgroups will not meet on 19.04., and the final two colloquium meetings occur after the conclusion of Block III).
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Colloquium Science and Technology Studies
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-IN0002)
In summer semester 2018, the Chair in Science and Technology Studies will welcome renowned senior colleagues from the international STS research community for talks and extended discussions. The broad theme of the colloquium series is “Society/ Biol- ogy/Environment,” and in addition to hearing talks on current research, we will discuss prospects for STS in Germany.
Jenny Reardon, 19.04.2018
University of California, Santa Cruz (Sociology and the Science and Justice Research Center). Author of The Postgenomic Condition: Ethics, Justice, Knowledge After the Genome.
Susan Jones, 03.05.2018
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine and the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior). Author of Death in a Small Package: A Short History of Anthrax.
Nancy Campbell, 17.05.2018
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Department of Science, Technology, and Society). Co-author of Gendering Addiction: The Politics of Drug Treatment in a Neurochemical World.
Anne Harrington, 14.06.2018
Harvard University (History of Science). Author of The Cure Within: A History of Mind- Body Medicine.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Ignorance, Uncertainty, Unknowns
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-CO0031)
This course has two components: First, it takes us through some classical and some recent STS readings regarding ignorance. Second, we will attend the FRIAS Lunch Lectures every second week and discuss each of them afterwards:
Matthias Groß, 03.05.2018
“Back to the Unknown: How Ignorance can be Useful”, Urban and Environmental Sociology
Oliver Bräunling, 17.05.2018
Mathematics
Majid Daneshgar, 07.06.2018
Religion and Islamic Studies
Stefan Schmidt, 14.06.2018
“Hidden Rituals in Medicine”, Psychology
Stefan Buhmann, 21.06.2018
Physics
Lorena Bachmaier, 28.06.2018
Law
Anne Harrington, 05.07.2018
History of Science and Medicine
Paolo Silvestri, 12.07.2018
(Legal and Political Philosophy)
Gunther Neuhaus, 19.07.2018
Biology
Students submit an essay as a graded exam within six weeks after the end of the seminar.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt, Prof. Dr. Peter Pfaffelhuber: Aspects of Human Genetic Diversity
Finding structure in diversity between humans has long interested researchers. Most scientific inquirires are based on (oftentimes implicit) conceptual assumptions about the basic units of that structure: race, population or gradient. Since the availability of DNA as inherited character, these differences have become a new and highly quantifiable aspect. However, at the same time, choosing and demarcating human groups and individuals to represent certain populations, races or gradients entails many non-quantitative decisions and processes. Similarly, choosing methods, models, and markers also entails choices that are not always obvious or without alternatives.
This seminar is a cross-disciplinary teaching project with the Bachelor of Arts and Sciences and Mathematics as key players. We will discuss statistical methods from the field of (human) population genetics and, on that basis, also consider the validity of the research results. Furthermore, we will examine the societal assumptions about (and imaginations of) human societies that inform the research designs of these studies. We will discuss possible consequences of that research field in epistemological and societal perspective. To do so, we will work exemplarily with a few populations covered by human population genetic studies.
The specific goal of this seminar is to learn with and from each other about the many facets (methodological, societal, political, biological, anthropological, etc.) of a seemingly homogeneous research topic.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt, Angela Meran-Witt: Creating an Exhibition Unit for the UNISEUM:
The Alexander Ecker Collection
(Course number 00LE62S-LAS-CH0030)
This block course implements the findings from the previous course within the UNISEUM exhibition. It will equip students with practical skills in exhibition conceptualization and design. Realization of the exhibition requires the development of an exhibition concept as well as detail work such as the writing of exhibition texts, the design of multimedia presentations, the search for suitable images and illustrations, the design and conceptualization of PR strategies and instruments.
We will build two groups: One for hands-on museological work, the other for PR- related tasks concerning the exhibit.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Human Remains Exhibited? Skulls as Objects of colonialism, Race Science and Museal Display
Skull collections around the world – but particularly in Germany – have received much controversial attention recently: As objects representing a problematic legacy of Germany’s colonial era, as objects of repatriation claims, as objects of scientific inquiry into race in past and present, and as objects of display in museums and exhibits. Freiburg university hosts one of the most fervently debated skull collections in Germany: The “Alexander-Ecker-Collection”. As part of the project “Forschendes Lernen im Uniseum”, this course will tackle different perspectives on the Alexander Ecker Collection in Freiburg. The skull collection was initiated by the anatomist and physician Alexander Ecker (1816-1887); after his death, a number of successors looked after the collection, most notably Eugen Fischer (1874-1967), who later become spearhead of the national-socialist race ideology. In the year 2002, the collection became part of the University Archives. In the last couple of years, the collection mostly appeared in media reports in the context of repatriation requests from Namibia and Australia. As a result, provenance research on the collection took place, and some of the remains have been returned to their homelands (i.e. to Namibia in 2013). This short summary of the collection’s history already highlights key topics/questions for the course:
- What are the historical contexts under which collection took place? Why did people collect skulls in the 19th and early 20th century?
- How was the collection interpreted in the past – and how do various stakeholders see and understand it today?
- How can the collection’s future be imagined – caught between being testimony to a certain period in the history of science, current scientific potential, and ethical demands brought about by its very existence?
- How can the collection, its difficult history, and the various perspectives on it, be presented in an exhibition?
The course will combine theoretical and interdisciplinary perspectives, historical and contemporary research with practical application: Students will conduct independent research projects on various aspects of the topic, the results of which will be used to create a new exhibition unit in the Uniseum.
The course is conducted by Prof. Veronika Lipphardt with the cooperation of Prof. Dr. Ursula Wittwer-Backofen and Prof. Dr. Dieter Speck, and will be accompanied by Sarah Fründt (Chair of Sience and Technology Studies) and Angela Meran-Witt (Uniseum). All of these will bring in their own expertise and practical experience, thus highlighting different perspectives on the collection.
Winter Semester 2017/18
Dr. Nicholas Buchanan: Science, Technology and Society
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-CO0036)
Science and technology are defining characteristics of our world. But how is scientific knowledge made, how are technologies developed? What impacts do these have on our lives and the lives of others, and in what ways do human choices shape science and technology?
This course explores science and technology not as bodies of knowledge or collections of artifacts, but rather as social practices and processes. In it, we will examine the interrelationships among science, technology, and society in historical and contemporary contexts, with the aim of better understanding the embeddedness of scientific and technical activities within society.
Because Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an eclectic and wide-ranging field of inquiry that resists clean theoretical summary, the course will not be organized as a tour of major canonical theories within science and technology studies. Instead, lectures will explore how STS can help provide a deeper understanding of all-too- easily taken-for-granted categories in public discourse, such as “science,” “technology,” “bodies,” “nature,” “experts,” and “disciplines.” Throughout our discussion, we will nonetheless highlight important schools of thought within STS as we draw on sources in the history of science and technology, the sociology of scientific knowledge, and the anthropology of science and technology.
In workgroups, we will read and discuss a wide variety theoretical and empirical texts that interrogate science and technology as social phenomena. In addition, the course will also focus on the idea that STS can be a productive avenue for public engagement, and students will participate in projects meant to use insights from STS as a way to inform public debates.
Summer Semester 2017
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Ignorance, Uncertainty and Non-Knowledge (Cooperative with FRIAS lunch lectures)
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-CO0031)
What it is that we don’t know, and that maybe we will never know? Or: that we don’t know yet? Or: that we don’t even know yet that we don’t know? Or: that we don’t want, or should not want, to know? Or: that we are not supposed to know? And in the latter case: who then is it who doesn’t want us (academics, ultimately society) to know?
This seminar has two components: First, it takes us through some classical and some recent STS readings (most of them in English, some of them in German language) regarding the handling of ignorance, uncertainty and not-knowing in the sciences. Second, we will attend the FRIAS lunch lectures every second week and discuss each of them afterwards. In this lecture series, covering a highly diverse set of academic disciplines and research cultures, FRIAS Fellows will address questions relevant for shedding light on ignorance and uncertainty, touching upon ethical, political, economic, and social aspects. Students submit a 12-15-page-essay as a Prüfungsleistung within 6 weeks after the end of the seminar.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt, Dr. Nicholas Buchanan: Living Knowledge. Practise and Reflection of Qualitative Methods (Foundational Year)
(Course Number 00LE62V-LAS-CO0028, 00LE62S-LAS-CO0028)
This course introduces students to a broad consideration of knowledge in its historical, social, political and practical contexts. Drawing on work in the history, anthropology and sociology of knowledge, the course addresses knowledge production and circulation beyond academia, as well as knowledge transfers in and across professional fields, educational systems, regions, cultures, and knowledge regimes. It aims at fostering reflection about questions such as “What counts as knowledge? What has counted as knowledge in previous centuries? What is (or what was) the relationship between scientific knowledge and knowledge that is (was) not deemed scientific, as, for example, common sense knowledge, or the knowledge of non-academic professional fields, or knowledge produced and used by political entities?“ It also fosters reflection about epistemic beliefs, or „personal epistemology“: That is, how humans (including ourselves) use, evaluate, cherish and question knowledge in their daily lifes, how they relate emotionally to specific forms of knowledge, and how they deal with uncertainties.
In addition to this focus on knoweldge, this course is also designed to provide basic insights into, and first experiences with, qualitative methodologies (as complementary to quantitative methods, the basics of which were provided in Dealing With Numerical Information).
The course consists of two parts. In the weekly lecture, we will discuss historical and contemporary examples along with theoretical perspectives, such as social constructivist or cognitive theories. In the workgroups, students are trained to do ethnographic studies (e.g. interviews and participatory observation), broadly dealing with knowledge experiences in every day life.
Dr. Nicholas Buchanan: The Future: Science Fiction and Historical Inquiry
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-COCH0002)
What will the future bring? Will the years, decades, or even centuries to come bring prosperity or despair? A technological utopia or an apocalypse? For numerous writers, film-makers, and thinkers, questions about the future have inspired works of speculation that touch on every imaginable aspect of the human condition. In this course, we will explore the future—in novels and films—as a way to understand the past, especially the cultures, concerns, and preoccupations of the places and times where these futures were imagined. In particular, we will examine how these sources can illuminate the cultural roles played by prediction; changing attitudes towards scientific and technological change; the potentials and limitations of human knowledge and ability; the specter of science and technology out of control; concerns about religion in an age of cold rationality; and the ways that technology can oppress or emancipate. Star ships, androids, and aliens will also be discussed as time permits.
The course will focus on critical analysis and interpretation of speculative literature and film as historical sources, paying attention to both the production and consumption of these works. We will also engage with a variety of other primary sources, building skills in historical methodologies, the interpretation of texts, and narrative analysis. We will contextualize our interpretations with the relevant scholarly literature history, social science, and science and technology studies.
Winter Semester 2016/17
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: An Introduction to Responsibility and Leadership
(Course Number 00LE62VS-LAS-CO0026)
Responsibility and Leadership are two key terms of the LAS curriculum. This course aims at introducing basic concepts of responsibility and leadership. Further, it introduces students to past and present academic debates around these terms.Hence, it does not provide students with, for example, leadership skills, but rather critically examines how leadership has been understood in the past and how it is understood today. In addition, this course aims at sensitizing students to issues related to responsibility, gender and diversity, educational psychology, self concepts, and social interaction. Students will attend weekly lecture-and-discussion sessions, a number of guest lectures and a workshop that provides them with a diversity training.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Uncertainty, Unknowns and Ignorance in the Sciences
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-IN0003)
What it is that we don’t know, and that maybe we will never know? Or: that we don’t know yet? Or: that we don’t even know yet that we don’t know? Or: that we don’t want, or should not want, to know? Or: that we are not supposed to know? And in the latter case: who then is it who doesn’t want us (academics, ultimately society) to know?
This seminar has two components: First, it takes us through some classical and some recent STS readings (most of them in English, some of them in German language) regarding the handling of ignorance, uncertainty and not-knowing in the sciences. Second, we will attend the FRIAS lunch lectures every second week and discuss each of them afterwards. In this lecture series, covering a highly diverse set of academic disciplines and research cultures, FRIAS Fellows will address questions relevant for shedding light on ignorance and uncertainty, touching upon ethical, political, economic, and social aspects.
Dr. Nicholas Buchanan: Ethics in Science and Technology
(Course Number 00LE62VS-LAS-CO0027)
We live in a world saturated with science and technology. No longer confined to the rarefied worlds of universities, laboratories, or the research and development departments of high-tech companies, science and technology instead pervade our everyday lives. In the process, the ethical issues associated with science and technology have come to affect us all, in nearly every corner of daily existence. They may very well have become the ethics of everyday life.
In this course, we will examine the ethics of science and technology not as a prescribed set of “dos and don’ts” intended exclusively for scientists and engineers, but instead as a dynamic, ever-changing social system for understanding and governing the relationship between society, science, and technology. We will do so by analyzing historical and contemporary ethical issues in science and technology, how ethics have changed over time, and how they will continue to change. We will pay special attention to the idea that ethics are a way to mediate power relationships among individuals, organizations, and the state, as well as to the difficult question of assessing responsibility in a complex, global, and techno-scientific world. The course covers three broad ethical areas, including
a) science, technology, and the state;
b) the politicization of biology and life itself; and
c) environmental change.
In addition, we will discuss why it sometimes feels that technologies are running out of control; how science and technology have been used to both free and oppress; why experts disagree and what this means; and what constitutes “deviance” (and why deviance is not always bad).
Students will gain the ability to analyze and critique multiple viewpoints in ethical controversies; to understand these conflicts in their historical contexts; to identify situations in which ethical issues are likely to arise; and to investigate who (or what) bears responsibility for both scientific breakthroughs and technological disasters.
Summer Semester 2016
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Knowledge in Context
(Course Number 00LE62VS-LAS-CO0020)
This course introduces students to a broad consideration of knowledge in its historical, social, political and practical contexts. Drawing on work in the history, anthropology and sociology of knowledge, the course addresses knowledge production and circulation beyond academia, as well as knowledge transfers in and across professional fields, educational systems, regions, cultures, and knowledge regimes. It aims at fostering reflection about questions such as “What counts as knowledge? What has counted as knowledge in previous centuries? What is (or what was) the relationship between scientific knowledge and knowledge that is (was) not deemed scientific, as, for example, common sense knowledge, or the knowledge of non-academic professional fields, or knowledge produced and used by political entities?” We will discuss historical examples and theoretical perspectives, such as social constructivist or cognitive theories, and take an ethnographic perspective onto knowledge in everyday life.
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Science in Context
(Course Number 00LE62VS-LAS-CO0017)
This course introduces students to classical and recent approaches in Science Studies. To my understanding, STS (Science and Technology Studies) and HPS (History and Philosophy of Science) both contribute to Science Studies. Science Studies is an interdisciplinary field that draws from anthropology, sociology, political sciences, philosophy, history and cultural studies to explore what counts as scientific knowledge and why, and how science and technology intervene in (and interact with) the wider world. It allows students to reflect upon their involvement in science and technology, to develop a critical understanding of the role of science and technology in the world, and to consider the impact and implications of their own work for society.
In the common picture of science, science creates and accumulates knowledge by confronting the natural world, and it makes progress because of its systematic method. According to this narrative, different scientists should perform an experiment similarly; scientists should be able to agree on important questions and considerations; and most importantly, different scientists considering the same evidence should accept and reject the same hypotheses. Scientists should be able to agree on truths about the natural world. Contrasting with these widespread assumptions, the course starts from the assumption that science is a thoroughly social activity. It is social in that scientists are always members of communities, trained into the practices of these communities and necessarily working with them. These communities set standards for inquiry and evaluate knowledge claims.
The course starts from basic tenets of Science Studies scholars, such as:
• Knowledge has a history (or, in fact, multiple histories)
• Knowledge is embedded in practices
• Knowledge is a social endeavour
• Knowledge is involved in struggles for power
• Knowledge is controversial, negotiated, and stabilized
• Knowledge oscillates between the local and the universal
• Knowledge emerges in transfers.
The course regards scientific knowledge as socially shaped; however, this does not mean that scientific knowledge is not correct. Yet instead of prioritizing questions such as „Which knowledge is a good truth claim“ or „valid/unvalid“, or „false/correct“, the course encourages students to ask questions such as „How is scientific knowledge produced, negotiated, stabilized, and circulated?“ – „How does scientific knowledge shape our life worlds?“ – „What does it mean to live in a knowledge based society?“ – „What are the gaps between data and truth claim? How do scientists decide for a specific way to overcome them?“ and, oriented towards social, ethical and political relevance: „If it is unavoidable to base decisions on knowledge, how can one deal with knowledge in a reflected and responsible way?“ – „How (if at all) can we resolve conflicts between competing truth claims; how can we make decisions in the light of competing truth claims?“
Winter Semester 2015/2016
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Responsibility and Leadership in Academia
(Course Number 00LE62VS-LAS-CO0015)
This course introduces students to the many facets and challenges of responsibility and leadership in academia. It aims to provide academic insights into the critical discourse around these issues, as well as reflections on and applicable skills for responsible behaviour in academic environments. Both leadership and community building will be analyzed in their relevance for shaping the social and intellectual world of academia and beyond. By analyzing, comparing and contrasting different approaches to leadership and responsibility in academia as discussed in the literature, students acquire the competency to critically evaluate various models of leadership in academia.
The course will be focussing on six specific topics: Gender and Diversity; Economics; Ethics of Science; Misconduct; Uncertainty; Leadership Models. For at least four of these, invited speakers will bring in first-hand expertise.
Sarah Fründt: Museums and Sensitive Objects
(Course Number 00LE62S-LAS-CH0012)
Museums are often considered “windows to science”, as they present research results, research objects, original sources as well as a discipline’s very own set of assumptions, theories, methods, and historical developments to the interested public. In science, one of the most important ethical questions usually revolves around the notion: Is science allowed to do everything? By proxy the same questions can be asked about museums: are they allowed to own everything they do, show everything they can, tell every story they want? What are their responsibilities? Fueled by international decolonization, especially anthropological museums have been heavily criticized over the last decades. Not only for constructing an image of indigenous peoples that is far away from reality, but also for owning and presenting certain types of objects, such as human remains, sacred items, burial goods, items of cultural significance and other so called “sensitive objects”. In reaction, museum practice is slowly changing and guidelines (and in some cases also legal solutions) appear.
In this course we will look at three interconnected topics:
a) the current debate on repatriation and restitution of human remains and other museums objects,
b) the question if sensitive objects can/should be used for research?
c) the question if sensitive objects can/should be presented in exhibitions?
Teaching will include a theoretical and historical introduction to the topic, complemented by a number of documentary films. A number of sessions will then be used for student presentations of case studies and their discussion. Active engagement with these case studies (including contacting people involved) will be encouraged.
Summer Semester 2015
Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt: Knowledge in Context. An Introduction to Science Studies