Farber paper topic discussion and transition

Paper topic:
Write a 4-5 page double-spaced typed paper (in a 12 point font) using what you learned in the Farber book about the misuse of science to compare Farber's example with an outside past or present-day example. Note that you are required to use this structure: half your paper explaining specifics from the book and half based on research into a material not covered by the book on a related topic, past or present.  You must focus on some aspect of the misuse of science (or its use for political or social points), either how science is distorted by society or how scientific ideas are used negatively in society or how scientific ideas are use to push society in new directions.  General paper instructions are here: http://pammack.sites.clemson.edu/lec392/paperinstructions.html (Links to an external site.)

Alternative assignment: Write about the history of how one area of thought defined race over a period of at least 100 years.  You may focus on scientific definitions, legal definitions, cultural definitions...  If you choose an area other than scientific please make some mention of the impact of science on the area you have chosen and show that you understand Farber's arguments by using some material from the book.

One thing to watch out for in the first topic is that the misuse and use of science has to be a part of your argument; don't just write about prejudice.
you may include social science as well as natural science

What is the nature of science?

• scientific method
• usually mathematical, either proof based or statistics based
• involves experiment or systematic observation
• experiment: testing a hypothesis, keep everything else the same and change one variable to see what effect it has
• systematic observation: start with a hypothesis, gathering lots of data and categorizing it
• falsify-ability: your hypothesis needs to be testable
  
• science is a community enterprise: for a theory to succeed the scientific community needs to accept it
• do other scientists find your evidence convincing
• process: peer reviewed publication and then whether people use it in future work (and cite it)
• theories that are not widely accepted do not have status as science--scientists must convince others
  
• science has as its goal objectivity
• scientists are often biased, but the community tries to correct that when they see it
• scientists may use feelings and intuition to get to a result, but then to be published it needs to be justified in a more objective way
• objectivity is useful for some kinds of knowledge but not for others
  

Second topic:

what is a cultural definition of race? What evidence can you use?