Honors Collegium Courses
Spring 2007

HC 20: What is This Thing Called Science? A General Introduction to the Nature of Modern Science
(5 units)

Director: Eric R. Scerri, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Science is one of the most powerful forces in modern society. It provides reliable knowledge and is the basis of our modern technologies and standard of living. This course explores the difference between science and other systems of knowledge and will seek to answer the question of why science alone appears to provide reliable and objective knowledge and whether indeed it does.

We shall examine the demarcation between science and other forms of knowledge by considering first the views of philosopher Karl Popper. Older views of the objectivity of science and its supremacy have been increasingly challenged in modern times. Popper himself is also well known for having emphasized that theories cannot be proved but only refuted. We shall study this view by first considering some elementary ideas in logic to see why refutation may be a more viable option than the notion that theories can be proved.

Starting in the 1960s, philosophers of science realized that attempts to understand the nature of science would need to consider its historical development and could not rest entirely on logical and philosophical grounds. Pioneers of this "historical turn" include Thomas Kuhn, Imre Lakatos and Paul Feyerabend, all of whom have had highly influential roles on later thinkers in many fields.

The historical turn and the greater emphasis on social aspects of science, which were initiated by Kuhn in particular, have led to what many believe to be an over-emphasis on these factors. The 'Science Studies' movement has grown increasingly closer to advocating relativism to describe the nature of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is sometimes described as being 'constructed' rather than discovered. The outcome of such views has been the "Science Wars" debate that has raged among from many diverse fields from the hard sciences, to science education, philosophy, literary criticism and anthropology among others. Our course will examine key readings from the Science wars literature, including the Sokal affair which dramatically brought these issues to the lay-reader.

The final third of the course will examine some specific modern issues in the study of the nature of science, including scientific explanation and scientific reduction as well as the question of whether scientific theories receive credit mainly for their dramatic predictions or their explanatory powers. Science is one of the most powerful forces in modern society. It provides reliable knowledge and is the basis of our modern technologies and standard of living. This course explores the difference between science and other systems of knowledge and will seek to answer the question of why science alone appears to provide reliable and objective knowledge and whether indeed it does.

Application on General Education Requirements: Old L&S GE (Pre-Fall 2002) Physical Sciences; New L&S GE (Fall 2002) Foundation Categories: Society and Culture-Historical Analysis OR Scientific Inquiry-Physical Sciences

Eric R. Scerri, who teaches chemistry at UCLA, holds his Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Science from King’s College, University of London. He has taught at University College, London, the London School of Economics, Caltech, and Purdue University, as well as at UCLA. He is the author of numerous articles on the history and philosopy of science and is currently editor in chief of Foundations of Chemistry. He has been recognized for his distinguished teaching and is especially interested in promoting interdisciplinary discourse in the university.

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HC 30: The Vietnam War and American Culture
(4 units)

Director: James Goodwin, English

Engagement by the United States government in a prolonged, undeclared war in Southeast Asia has had profound effects on American politics, global strategy, foreign policy, and culture. The cultural focus in the seminar will be manifold, with examples of the impact of the American war in Vietnam (1961-1975) taken from photography (LIFE magazine, Tim Page), journalism (Michael Herr), personal narrative, American politics, poetry (Yusef Komunyakaa, Bruce Weigl), fiction (Graham Greene, Tim O'Brien, contemporary fiction from Vietnam), and film (Coppola's Apocalypse Now).

PRIOR to the first meeting of the seminar, it is highly RECOMMENDED that students read one of three standard histories of the Vietnam war:
Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History
Barbara Tuchman, "America Betrays Herself in Vietnam," in her book The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam
A. J. Langguth, Our Vietnam: A History of the War

Application on General Education Requirements: Old L&S GE (Pre-Fall 2002) Humanities-Culture and Civilization OR Social Sciences-Social Analysis; New L&S GE (Fall 2002) None

Note: This course has an enrollment restriction

James Goodwin, Professor of English at UCLA, received his BA from Stanford University and his MA and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Through his department and the Department of Comparative Literature, he teaches courses in American literature, film, autobiography, and modern drama. His research and publications extend into the fields of autobiography and film theory and history. He has authored the books Autobiography: The Self Made Text (1993); Eisenstein, Cinema, and History (1993); and Akira Kurosawa and Intertextual Cinema (1994); and he is editor of Perspectives on Akira Kurosawa (1994).

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HC 38W: Body-Mind Literacy
(6 units)

Director: Laurie Mattenson-Hoffman, Writing Programs

This class attends to the integrity of the whole student. In order to activate our multiple forms of intelligence: interpersonal, rational, kinesthetic, emotional, etc., we will explore the relationship between Body and Mind: when are they most in harmony and when are we alienated from this potential unity? When do we value one part of ourselves over another and why? What cultural, social, political, and personal influences determine the answers to these questions? In my view, this inquiry touches every academic discipline and more significantly: every human life.

This class adds Body-Mind Awareness to the list of fundamental literacies of our time: linguistic, mathematical, scientific, and technological. As our world (and much of our pedagogy) becomes automated and therefore disembodied, we need to study how personal development is dependent upon mental and physical health. We may have had mandatory P.E. classes in grammar or high school, but this is not a true physical education. Students do not learn to be comfortable and confident in their own bodies; instead we learn self-conscious performance and competition. The rest of the day, students memorize facts and ideas as they sit—silent, still and unengaged—but they rarely learn how or why this information is relevant to their lives. This class seeks to bridge the gap between mental and physical education and asks students to look internally as much as externally for guidance and strength.

Application on General Education Requirements: Old L&S GE (Pre-Fall 2002) Humanities-Philosophy; New L&S GE (Fall 2002) Arts and Humanities-Philosophical and Linguistic Analysis

Satisfactory completion of this course with a grade of "C" or better will satisfy the Writing II requirement.

Lauri M. Mattenson-Hoffman has received awards for her distinguished teaching at UCLA and is particularly noteworthy for her innovative teaching techniques. In addition to her degrees in English Literature, she is a Certified Yoga Teacher and Massage Technician and is especially interested in philosophy, ethics, and the body-mind relationship. She has studied at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem, Israel, and has been editor of and contributor to The Pardes Reader, a collection of scholarly articles by faculty members of the Institute. Her specialties are writing (creative and academic) and modern poetry and drama.

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HC 46: Drugs in Society: An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Drug Abuse, Abuse, Treatment and Intevention
(5 units)

Director: Christine Grella, Psychiatry & Biobehaviorial Sciences

Drug use is at the core of many current, and often controversial, social issues. The use of psychoactive substances in the United States has changed historically, depending on trends in availability and social attitudes toward drug use. Similarly, social policies and responses toward drug use have changed over time, and even the definition of what constitutes a drug is the subject of both scientific and social debate. Depictions of drug use are pervasive within media and popular culture, with conflicting images that are often driven by social stereotypes. At the same time, biomedical research into the effects of drug use on the brain and body is rapidly advancing with the development of new research technologies, and addiction research is advancing our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction and the effectiveness of clinical interventions. The course is designed to expose students to a broad scope of issues regarding substance use in the United States, drawing upon current research and theory across multiple disciplines. The course will provide a historical context to the extent and type of drug use within the U.S., including changes in prevalence of use of different types of substances and in the cultural context in which drug use is understood. Different social policies and societal responses to drug use will be examined, including medical and psychosocial treatment approaches, criminal justice interventions, efforts to curtail the supply of illegal drugs (i.e., “War on Drugs”), prevention efforts aimed at youth, and movements to “legalize” certain drugs. Current research on the neurobiological properties of different types of drugs and corresponding clinical interventions will also be examined, as well as future directions in addictions-based research.