Science and Society Lord Robert May PRS Part of the Science Year Lectures Held at The Royal Society 23rd January 2002 Click on the links to learn more: • General Information on the Science Year Lecture Series • Science and Society • Professor Lord May & the Royal Society • Like the subject, want to know more..? • Loved the subject, want to study some more..? • Teachers notes on the lecture Science and Society Will GM crops destroy the environment, or solve economic problems in the third world? Should the cloning of humans be banned, for what reasons, and is it still OK to clone sheep? How certain are we of what is causing the hole in the ozone layer, and can we fix it? What age will you die, and what can you do to live longer? These are the kind of questions that science raises today with increasing frequency. In this Science Year lecture, Lord May challenges his audience to think about such questions, and the roles that scientists need to play in society, both now and in the future. Lord May & the Royal Society This lecture will be taking place at the Royal Society. In 2000, Robert May became the 58th President of the Royal Society (PRS). Following in footsteps of very famous men such as Christopher Wren, Samuel Pepys and Isaac Newton, this is one of the most important jobs in science. The first thing you may notice about Robert May is his accent. He was born in Australia and spent thirteen years at the University of Sydney. Despite spending the next fifteen years at Princeton University in the USA, and moved to the UK in 1988, he still sounds fresh from ‘down under’. As a Scientist, Robert May is not easily pigeonholed. He’s been a physicist, an applied mathematician, and a zoologist, and has managed to combine all three disciplines in a unique way of looking at how animal and plant populations work. Before becoming President of the RS, Lord May spent 5 years as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government and so has been involved in some of the big scientific issues of recent times, especially BSE and genetically-modified foods. He’s also on the Board of the UK Sports Institute. Like the subject, want to know more...? To find out more about the Royal Society go to the RS website. Or try Sc1, their website for 16-19 year olds. There you can find out about the newest scientific discoveries, play games or post in your opinion on scientific issues. It's worth checking out science news pages on the web. Science in the media is not just stories of amazing discoveries but also about how science is effecting our everyday lives, and how we react to scientific change. Think about all the recent stories on Bioterrorism or stem cell research. For some of the most comprehensive set of science news stories the best place to go is the BBC News Sci/Tech pages. If a science news story gets you really fired up you can visit the BBC science message boards to join in or start web discussions on all sorts of scientific technological and social issues. Or, if you really want to make your views known, you might like to check out the Science Year/ Daily Telegraph Young Science Writers Competition. The New Scientist's Hot-topics pages are similar to the BBC's section, but these are slightly more detailed and there are more issues covered. There's the "Clone Zone", AI, and Bioterrorism pages to name but a few. There are also sections on science policy and political debate involving science, such as the sections on Animal Experimentation and Cannabis. Loved the subject, want to study it...? Try looking for "science and society" in ucas and you won’t get very far, but Science Year have trawled the university websites and can bring you their very own guide to: • Science & Society Degrees • Science & Society options as part of other degrees Science & Society Degrees University College London’s department of Science and Technology Studies (STS), offer three BSc’s in the area. Their degrees include courses on the history, philosophy, communication, and policy of science. As well as introductory courses in these areas there are more advanced ones on science and the media, genetics and society, popular science books, science and war, research ethics, and the sociology of science, to name but a few. The STS website is huge, and should tell you all you want to know. The University of Stirling runs a 4-year undergrad degree in Science and Society. Unlike the UCL degree, this includes training in a scientific discipline along with social studies. Science courses on Ecology, Cell Biology, and Physics run along side courses such as ‘Asking Questions in Biology’, ‘Environmental Policy and Management’ as well as general social studies courses on social problems and sociological theory. The degree is four years, but some English students can go straight into 2nd year. If you’ve got other commitments and looking for a part time degree, Birkbeck College, London, runs a four-year BSc in Science for Society. This degree teaches science from its social context, looking at its impact up on culture, industry and government. The exact topics studied change regularly, to keep up to date. The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne runs two courses. From the Chemistry department, there is ‘Science in Modern Society’ where students learn both about current scientific affairs and communicating science, building both research and presentations skills. For the more technically minded, their department of physics runs a ‘Science and the Information Society’ which looks at how IT works (both in terms of the physical mechanisms, and its social impact) as well as how to use it to communicate effectively. Science & Society options in other degrees In Science degrees: If you’ve already decided upon a science degree, but wouldn’t mind taking a course on two on science and society as part of the program, then you’ll be glad to know Science Year have found some universities that will let you. Many science students at University College London can take courses in their department of Science and Technology Studies (although you will need to check for each degree). They run a huge range of great courses so check out their undergraduate pages for full details. Environmental Sciences at Sussex run several degrees which include science policy options. This is not the only department at Sussex to do so, if you’re interested ask at open days and interviews. The Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of Manchester have a detailed site outlining the large number of undergraduate options they run, including several related to science and society. These options are available within many degrees so check with the department you’re interested in. Imperial College, London’s Humanities program allows their undergraduates to study courses on science communication, science and society, and ethics in science. They also run history and philosophy of science options. Several science courses at Stirling can include science policy courses, check out their detailed online prospectus for more information. Not all universities publish full degree schemes on the web, so if you don’t see your choice of university above, but think you might be interested in some ‘science and society’ courses, it’s still worth asking at open days. In Arts/Humanities Degrees: You can also study aspects of science and society within a degree in the History & Philosophy of Science, which you find through the ucas. Or, if you think you might be interested in medical history, its also worth looking up degrees at UCL , East Anglia, and Manchester. Or if its the ‘society’ end of this lecture that really interested you, and your looking at Sociology or Social Studies degrees, you might find that courses such as the one at York. This degree lets you study subjects such as environmentalism or the public understanding of science. Not all universities publish full degree schemes on the web, so if you don’t see your choice of university above, but think you might be interested in some ‘science and society’ courses, it’s still worth asking at open days. Teachers notes on the lecture The following are PDF documents for you to download... Download a Transcript of the lecture here (approx. 36k) Download a series of Activities here (approx. 40k) Search events Back