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Culture & Science

Science operates in a climate of culture, which in turn affects the questions asked and the interpretation of answers. Includes: gender and science, religion, adaptation, race, and the history of these areas.

Additional Resources

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Books

Genetics: Issues of Social Justice, Ted Peters (ed.) , The Pilgrim Library of Ethics, Cleveland, Ohio, p.x, 262 p., (1998)
Theologians, ethicists and legal experts contribute their perspectives on genetics and society.
Xenogenesis, Octavia E. Butler , New York, NY, p.264 p., (1987)

This science fiction series is a good read and raises fundamental questions about the superiority of and dignity of the human genome and respect for diversity. Titles include Adulthood Rites, Dawn, and Xenogenesis. Ms. Butler is the winner of the Hugo and the Nebula awards, and a MacArthur Foundation award recipient.

Woman on the Edge of Time, Marge Piercy , New York, p.369 p., (1976)
Genetic modification of food and animals is one of the issues raised in Marge Piercy's novel about an inmate in a mental institution who travels forward in time to a Utopian society where everyone works, everyone eats, and men and women are so equal that men even get to nurse babies.

Magazine Articles

What's Wrong With This Picture? Educating via Analyses of Science in Movies and TV, Sid Perkins , Science News, 10/2004, Volume 166, Issue 16, p.250, (2004)
Some scientists propose that more accurate depictions of research, and more favorable portrayals of scientists in film and on TV, may lead young people to study science.

Web Sites

Bioethics.net: American Journal of Bioethics online, University of Pennsylvania: Center for Bioethics & Department of Medical Ethics; Stanford University: Center for Biomedical Ethics; M.I.T. Press; Bioethics Education Network , Cambridge, Mass.Philadelphia, (2007) Abstract
The American Journal of Bioethics (online) features frequently updated news about stem cell research, policy and regulation.
Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement, Dolan DNA Learning Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory , (2007)
The Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, New York, was the center of American eugenics research from 1910–1940. Here you'll find a wealth of material mostly from that site, including numerous reports, articles, charts and pedigrees that were considered scientific "facts" in their day, as well as essays by modern scholars.
Martin Begaye, Marwin Begaye , (2007)
Artist Martin Begaye (Navajo) uses altered images from advertising and pop culture to raise awareness of the role of junk food in the diabetes epidemic. For instance, on the distinctive soft drink emblem, he's replaced the words "Enjoy Coca-Cola" with "Enjoy Diabetes." Then there's "Fool-Aid," and "Supersized Angels." It's biting satire — funny and alarming.
The ELSI Working Group, National Human Genome Research Institute , (2007)
The NIH-DOE Working Group on the Ethical, Legal and Social Issues of Genome Research — its full name is a mouthful, but ELSI is the premier source for information on the ethical, legal and social implications of genetic research.