SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
CMNS 446-4

THE COMMUNICATION OF SCIENCE
& TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY

Prerequisite:

75 credit hours, including CMNS 261 and 345.

Recommended:

CMNS 247, 253, 260, 362.

The primary goal of this course is to develop the critical capacity to evaluate the communication of scientific knowledge and the transfer of technologies from industrialized to non-industrialized or less industrialized settings. The course will begin with an examination of various notions about the nature of science and technology and their relation to social values. Differing perspectives on technology transfer will be discussed in the light of this examination.

The roles of aid agencies and transnational corporations as channels of communication will be examined. The international and national contexts of international technical communication transfers will be discussed in the light of particular case studies. The contexts and impacts of transfers of information, know-how, and equipment in a range of fields including communications, agriculture, medicine, industrial management, weapons, and biotechnology with analysed with case studies of experiences around the world.

The course will consist of weekly two-hour lectures and one-hour discussions of related required readings. Students will write three short essays (600 - 750 words) on topics that require evaluative analysis of the required readings as well as a final term paper on a topic relevant to those covered by the course.

Required Reading:

Besides the course text: Kevin Danaher, ed., 50 Years is Enough: The Case Against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, articles for required reading and discussion will be on reserve in the Library.

Evaluation:

Essay #1 15%
Essay #2 15%
Essay #3 15%
Presentation of Research 15%
Term Paper 40%

Note: Although there is no grade for participation in seminar discussions, the short essays require analysis of the readings discussed in class. Although there is no direct examination of students' grasp of material presented in lectures, the lectures are designed to provide background contextual information to facilitate understanding of the readings.

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to "Intellectual Honesty" and "Academic Discipline" (see the current Calendar, General Regulations section).