Overview
Please write a paragraph per answer unless otherwise instructed.
- Which scientific controversy will you explore? And why did you choose this one?
- What was the pre-established “normal” view? In other words, before the controversy started, what was the typical or paradigmatic way of thinking about the topic area/artifact involved in the controversy?
- How did this controversy start? Or who started it and how?
- Who were the major agents involved in the development of the controversy, and why? (I use the word “agents” to mean specific scientists, universities, laboratories, or corporations, anyone/thing that played a key role. Be as specific as possible.)
- In one paragraph each, describe the two sides involved. Try to use specific names or individual people or institutions (not abstract terms like “evolution scientists”). Also try to explain the main sticking point of debate, the position each side took, and the core evidence that supported the sides put forward.
- What were the social stakes involved? That is, did you see any concern that a shift in the fact of the science would require a shift in people’s social lives/ values/ beliefs/ institutions/ or government policy?
- There are many ways that rhetoric can manifest in a controversy. For example, a debater might give a demonstration of credibility (ethos) or try to appeal to emotions (pathos). One side might position the results in relationship to existing scientific values (such as best methods or right ways to be “scientific”). Or a debater might call up social values like economic equality or patriotism or trust in God to garner support. Or, one side might use new metaphors, funny comparisons, or otherwise explicit “rhetorical” moves to explain why they are correct and make their arguments. What did you see? Give one or two examples of any “rhetorical features” you noticed. Note: to find this, you may need to locate interviews with those involved on YouTube or look for key texts that detailed the debates.
- How did the controversy eventually end? Did it end? And how?
- Where did you find your information? List at least two reliable, authoritative sources (i.e. peer-reviewed or subject to an editor from a non-invested source). You can include a link to your source but be sure to still write the reference below in APA format.