The final project for this course will be a poster presentation over the last class of the semester. The project will have three graded components:

1. Topic submission (due Wed, Oct 2): Submit a short (no more than 300 words) description of the topic you have chosen and how you plan to represent it. Worth 5% of final grade
2. Poster submission (due Mon, Dec 2): Upload your poster (described below) to Teams. These will be put into a “virtual” poster gallery online. Worth 30% of final grade
3. Poster evaluation (due Fri, Dec 6): Each student will be responsible for the evaluation of four of your classmates’ posters. Worth 2.5% of final grade

The posters will present an exploration of a particular episode in the history of science and technology. You should pick one chapter from The Golem: What You Should Know About Science (Collins and Pinch 2012) or The Golem at Large: What You Should Know About Technology (Collins and Pinch 2014) to analyze using the ideas and theories from the course. These books present topics in science and technology, focusing on the social complexities that often go undiscussed when presenting such histories. Both books are available to read online with the links provided through the McGill Library. The relevant chapters are listed below:

• The Golem:
  1. Edible knowledge: the chemical transfer of memory
  2. Two experiments that ‘proved’ the theory of relativity
  3. The sun in a test tube: the story of cold fusion
  4. The germs of dissent: Louis Pasteur and the origins of life
  5. A new window on the universe: the non-detection of gravitational radiation
  6. The sex life of the whiptail lizard
  7. Set the controls for the heart of the sun: the strange story of the missing solar neutrinos
• The Golem at Large:
  1. A clean kill?: the role of Patriot in the Gulf War
  2. The naked launch: assigning blame for the Challenger explosion
  3. Crash!: nuclear fuel flasks and anti-misting kerosene on trial
  4. The world according to Gold: disputes about the origins of oil
  5. Tidings of comfort and joy: Seven Wise Men and the science of economics
  6. The science of the lambs: Chernobyl and the Cumbrian sheepfarmers
  7. ACTing UP: AIDS cures and lay expertise

Note: if there is a different episode from the history of science or technology you are familiar with and want to analyze instead of those listed, that’s great! You must ask the instructor for permission to use this topic.

Note: there will be a limit of 15 students per chapter/topic.

Your topic submission should specify (1) which chapter or topic you plan to analyze, (2) which themes (see below) you plan to utilize, and (3) a brief account of how you plan to approach the topic.

The main portion of your final project will be a poster in the style of an academic poster session. Your poster should present your analysis succinctly on an 11 by 17–inch (tabloid-size) document. You can use any software you want to design the poster—common choices are Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Slides, and Adobe Photoshop. You may design your poster in a number of ways, but it must include:

1. A headline (main point) related to your analysis.
2. A short text summary explaining what the poster is showing (secondary point).
3. An analysis of the topic, using at least two of the course themes.
4. Graphic objects/pictures/clip art/shapes that support the content and/or help your viewers understand how to read the poster (arrows, circles, squares, etc).
5. References to at least four of the class readings to support your analysis. You should use in-text references and include a separate section with your reference list.

Recall that the course themes, as presented on the syllabus and in class, are (1) scientific outcomes are social, (2) scientific research is social, (3) science and power, and (4) the history of science is a social history.

Layout and design will be an important part of the poster. That design is up to you, but you should focus on having a clean, legible layout. Check the University of Texas at Austin’s undergraduate poster design templates page for specific advice. (I will provide examples from previous years’ submissions as well.)

You will be responsible for providing peer evaluations of four of your classmates’ posters (determined randomly ahead of time). To do so you will find your assigned posters in an online poster gallery, and you will fill out a provided rubric that evaluates each poster and presentation on the following criteria:

• Knowledge and presentation of the topic (20%)
• Clarity and strength of argument (24%)
• Engagement with course themes (24%)
• Clarity of visual presentation (16%)
• Appropriateness of references (16%)

Each student’s final project mark will be determined from the aggregate of their peers’ evaluations of their poster with instructor oversight.