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Science Activism: Gender, Race, and Power
Week 8: Reading Guide
We will also have as guest speakers two MIT faculty members familiar with the March 4 movement, the founding of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the broader context of MIT in 1969: Aron Bernstein and Heather Lechtman. You can get a sense of the times from this MIT admissions video. The older man appearing repeatedly throughout was Walter Rosenblith, who at the time held the important role of Chair of the Faculty. The film also includes Noam Chomsky, Shirley Ann Jackson (co-founder of the Black Students’ Union), math professor Alar Toomre bar-tending in 18.01, and more.
Week 9: Reading Guide
This week, three students will present 15-minute summaries of their final paper concepts. We will also have Jonathan Beckwith as a guest speaker. Readings for the first class are from Beckwith’s book, where he shares several examples of social and ethical implications of research in the life sciences, including the misuse of science to subjugate different groups of people. The last chapter we read this week describes Beckwith’s efforts to work within the existing power structure of biology research to shift it to greater social responsibility. Such change often occurs so slowly that it only becomes apparent after several decades. We will compare the original report of the ELSI Working Group’s plans with a later article seeking to apply the lessons learned to nanotechnology research. The implications for present-day MIT should be apparent.
Week 10: Reading Guide
This week we study the impact of women scientists who spoke out against gender discrimination they experienced at MIT. Led by biologist Nancy Hopkins, all but one of the tenured women faculty in the science departments in 1995 called for investigation and change. In response the Dean of Science formed a committee to investigate, which led to a public report in 1999 that made a big impact not just at MIT, but across higher education and beyond. In 2016, undergraduates Caroline Chen and Kamilla Tekiela co-authored a companion report on the status of undergraduate women at MIT. The issues they identified remain persistent, difficult problems of culture at MIT.
Week 11: Reading Guide
This week we examine the impact of intersectionality theory on activism. Developed by black feminist writers, the concept of intersectionality includes both a categorical element (a person’s combination of multiple social identities) and a political one (the impact of overlapping systems of oppression). An example of the salience of the categorical element can be found in this analysis of MIT climate surveys. The political element, on the other hand, reminds us of the importance of movement spillover and coalition building. Contemporary activists working with an intersectional lens recognize that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King) and that single-issue activism often ends up further marginalizing oppressed peoples. As a result, intersectional activists focus on bringing attention to the systemic nature of oppression. They include several notable scientists such as Chanda Prescod-Weinstein and Ben Barres.
Week 12: Reading Guide
In this final week we will hear from a prominent MIT student activist of the 1980s and early 1990s, Steve Penn, who is now a physics professor at a liberal arts college. During all of MIT’s history there has probably never been a student more engaged in activism and protest. Four years after his PhD graduation, and ten years after Penn led the “Tent City” protests of MIT’s real estate development near Central Square, a writer in The Techappropriately described Penn as “a famous student activist.” We will end the class with a brief discussion of the contributions of another famous student activist, Rasheed Auguste (BS 2017, 8 and 22), and the final chapters of the books by Ben Barres and Jon Beckwith.
Week 6: Reading Guide
Each week’s readings will be accompanied by a set of guiding questions. As you read the materials, take notes about key messages as well as questions you have. Class discussions will center around these.
Week 5: Reading Guide
Each week’s readings will be accompanied by a set of guiding questions. As you read the materials, take notes about key messages as well as questions you have. Class discussions will center around these.
Final Paper
The final paper must be between 4000 and 5000 words and should either address in greater depth one of the case studies explored in class or develop a different case defined by an activist, movement, or event involving science activism after 1945 anywhere around the world.
Week 4: Reading Guide
Each week’s readings will be accompanied by a set of guiding questions. As you read the materials, take notes about key messages as well as questions you have. Class discussions will center around these.
Week 3 Reading Guide: The Nuclear Freeze Campaign and the role of organizers
We start the first day with a brief discussion of Gusterson’s second article, building on the previous long discussion of the first one. The second part of this discussion is based largely on television interviews of two activist leaders of the campaign for nuclear disarmament. We conclude with Beckwith’s chapter and its relevance to current events at MIT.
