Hi Beth, Ron and all, I suggest Andrew Hoffman's 2015 book "How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate" http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=25621 It is specific to climate change but there are transferable insights to associated science and environment issues. I've just used it in my summer undergraduate course with success: it is approachable (and short).
Cheers, max --- Associate Professor, Environmental Studies, University of Colorado-Boulder Fellow, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Director, Center for Science and Technology Policy Research (CSTPR) Deputy Editor, Climatic Change @boykoff ~ http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/boykoff/ On Thu, Jun 30, 2016 at 9:10 AM, Ronald Mitchell <[email protected]> wrote: > I don’t have a reading but I have an exercise that I think works pretty > well. I think of it as best to think of the distinction between faith, > opinion, and knowledge. Its here but also attached. > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > PS367: Climate Change: Science and Politics of a Global Crisis > > © Prof. Ronald Mitchell, 2016 > Department of Political Science and Program in Environmental Studies > > > > > > Assignment 3 Essay (submit online): “Different things we believe” (10%) > > Write a 1,000 word essay explaining what differences, if any, you see in the > use of the word “believe” in the following three sentences (choose whichever > term in each of the 3 underlined pairs best fits your beliefs). > > n I believe that there is/is not a God. > > n I believe that American government will work better if > Republicans/Democrats win the next election. > > n I believe that human-caused climate change is/is not already occurring. > > This assignment involves careful thought but NOT a response to the readings. > The goal is to get you thinking about how our beliefs about religion, about > politics, and about science differ. Bring in good ideas on these subjects! > > I prefer that your essay NOT tell me which of the underlined pairs you > believe! Instead, write out your answers to yourself and then think about > those answers to write an essay about the ways in which faith, opinion, and > knowledge differ. How strong are your beliefs in each of these areas? On > what basis have you come to hold your beliefs in each area? Are your beliefs > in each area susceptible to change in response to data and evidence and, if > so, to what kinds of data and evidence? Are your beliefs in each area > susceptible to arguments by others? What do differences among these types of > beliefs mean for political discourse? The goal is to use some time spent > thinking about your own experience to help you develop an essay which is > about how faith/opinion/knowledge differ more generally for everybody. > > ------------------------------------ > > > > > > > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of > Beth DeSombre > Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2016 7:51 AM > To: GEP-Ed List <[email protected]> > Subject: [gep-ed] Responses to Neil deGrasse Tyson? > > > > Hi folks: > > > > If you saw Tyson's tweet yesterday about creating the country of > "rationalia" (where "all policy shall be based on the weight of > evidence")-- there have been a few interesting responses designed to poke at > the problems with his logic, like this one from vox: > http://www.vox.com/2016/6/30/12064540/3-questions-for-neil-degrasse-tyson > > > > What I'm hoping exists -- perhaps as a response, or better yet as an already > existing standalone piece -- is something that clearly articulates the > "science can't decide policy, because policy involves making actual choices > among multiple things we value and there's no "scientifically right" way to > do that." > > > > I've tried a few different readings in my undergrad course to get at that > point, but none has been successful at communicating it to my students (or > my ES colleagues!). Does anyone have a reading to suggest? > > > > Beth > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "gep-ed" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "gep-ed" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gep-ed" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
