STSC 422 Politics and U.S. Science Policy
Offered:Fall 2008
Alpert TR 3-4:30
NEW!!
This course fulfills the Capstone Research Requirement for HSOC and STSC majors.
This capstone seminar provides an overview of the federal science policymaking process in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including the basics of how the government works. Possible topics: science policy and the Presidency, science policy and Congress, the role of interest groups, conflicts of interest, specific case studies (including the Human Genome Project, the FDA and AIDS drugs, and the politics of organ transplants), the role of the press/media in public perceptions of science policy. Students will carry out an exercise in budget allocation (including conducting budget hearings) based on actual budget figures for various institutes within the National Institutes of Health, and an exercise in peer review, utilizing actual National Science Foundation projects. Each student will chose a relevant topic on which to write their research paper.
