Instructor: Professor William C. Summers,
M.D., Ph.D.
Office Hours: By appointment
email to instructor: (click here)
Lectures: TuTh 1030-1120am, WLH 119;
Discussion: Sec 1) W 700pm Bass Lib L70; Sec 2) W 330pm WLH 202;
Sec 3) W 430pm TBA; Sec 4) W 800pm TBA
The purpose of this
course is to characterize the “molecular revolution” in the life
sciences in its intellectual, social, cultural and political dimensions. This
course will examine how the “molecular revolution” has transformed
our representations of life and disease, behavior and destiny, race and
identity. It will also explore the changing relationships between the life
sciences and society, as well as the transformation in research practices
during the 20th century.
This course will cover some of the key achievements in the history of the life
sciences in order to address broader historiographical
issues, such as the role of technology and research practices, intellectual and
political migrations, science policy and philanthropic foundations, local
networks and trans-national exchanges, social construction of risks and commodification of life, politics of memory and popular
representation of science. Readings will include newspapers articles,
scientific papers, popular literature, autobiographies, movies, and recent
historical literature in the field.
Requirements
Written work for the course:
●A
short newspaper article analysis (1 page) to involve finding and analyzing a
newspaper or magazine article published between 1953 and 1979 reporting on the
discovery of the DNA double helix.
●A
mid-term paper (4-5 pages), The mid-term paper will be a book review of a
scientist’s autobiography, Michael Crichton’s novel Next, or Rebecca Skloot’s
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
●A final written
examination which will cover all the readings and material discussed during
lectures. Instead of the final examination, and after approval of
one’s proposal, a student may write a research paper (15 pages).
The final grade will
be calculated as follows:
Participation in
class, online, and section discussion, 10%
Newspaper analysis,
due 30 Jan 2012, 10%
Mid-term book review,
due 28 Feb 2012, 30%
Final examination (or
research paper), 1-8 May 2012, 50%
Graduate students will have a special section with the instructor
and will get to choose additional reading assignments. The assignment will
consist of a 25 pages long research paper.
Course Texts
KAY, L.E. 1993. The Molecular Vision of Life. Oxford University Press.
Books on Reserve in Bass Library
MORANGE, M. 2000. A History of Molecular
Biology.
SKLOOT, R. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
MADDOX, B. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA
WATSON, J.D. The Double Helix.
CRICHTON, M. Next.
Course Outline
All texts marked with * are found in the Resources Section of the
ClassesV2 Course Website.
10 Jan: Introduction:
The molecular vision of life
Part I) A myth of
origins: The discovery of the DNA double helix
12 Jan: The secret of
life? The background to the discovery of the DNA double helix
* WATSON, J.D., and CRICK, F.H.C. 1953. “Molecular structure
of
nucleic acids”
* ANONYMOUS. 1953.
“Clue to Chemistry of Heredity Found”
17 Jan: BBC History
of DNA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCzWd9dXURM
19 Jan: From the
double helix to The Double Helix
* MORANGE, M. 2000. A
History of Molecular Biology, chapter 11
* CHARGAFF, E. 1968. “A
Quick Climb up the Mount Olympus”
* STRASSER, B.J. 2003. “Who
Cares About the Double Helix?”
24 Jan: Doing things with DNA: Using the
information.
* SUMMERS, W.C. “Doing things with DNA”
Part II) Molecularizing life and disease
26 Jan: The
“Engineering Ideal in Biology”: The Protein World
KAY,
L.E. 1993. The Molecular Vision of Life,
Interlude I
*ANONYMOUS,
1899. “Science Nears the Secret of Life”
*
STANLEY, W.M. 1935. “Isolation of a Crystalline Protein”
*
ANONYMOUS. 1935. “Crystals Isolated at Princeton”
*
ANONYMOUS. 1935. “Life in the Making”
*
GRAY, G. 1949. “Pauling and Beadle”.
* LOEB, J. 1912, The Mechanical Conception of Life. Chapt 1.
31 Jan: Making
Genetic Organisms: Flies, Mice, Corn, and Humans
* PAUL, D.B. & KIMMELMAN,
B.A. 1988, “Mendel in America: Theory
and Practice, 1900-1919”
* KOHLER, R.E, 1999. “Moral
Economy, Material Culture and Community in
Drosophila
Genetics”
* MORGAN, T.H. et al. 1915, The Mechanism of Mendelian
Heredity, Preface
* JENNINGS, H.S. 1924.
“Heredity and Environment”
* BEADLE, G.W. 1946. “Genes and the Chemistry of the Organism”.
2 Feb:
“Molecular anatomy”: Crystallographers and the structure of giant
molecules
DE
CHADAREVIAN, S. 2002. Designs
for Life. chapters 5
PERUTZ,
M. 1944. “Proteins: The Machines of Life”
ASTBURY,
W.T. 1950. Adventures in Molecular Biology, 3-7
7 Feb: The simplest
living system: Bacteria, viruses and the Phage group
* MORANGE, M. 2000. A
History of Molecular Biology, chapter 4
KAY,
L.E. 1993. The Molecular Vision of Life,
243-256
*
DELBRÜCK, M. 1946. “Experiments with Bacterial
Viruses (Bacteriophages)”.
*
JACOB, F. 1987. The Statue Within,
214-218
9 Feb: Molecules,
genes and diseases: Sickle cell anemia turns molecular
KAY,
L.E. 1993. The Molecular Vision of Life,
256-264
*
PAULING, L. et al., 1949. “Sickle cell anemia: A molecular
disease.”
*
STRASSER, B.J. 1999. “Sickle Cell Anemia, a Molecular Disease”.
14 Feb: Post-war
cybernetic cultures: Information, codes and regulatory networks
* MORANGE, M. 2000. A
History of Molecular Biology, chapter 12
* EPHRUSSI, B. et al. 1953. “Terminology in Bacterial Genetics”.
* GAMOW, G. 1954. “Possible
Relation between Desoxyribonucleic
Acid
and Protein Structure”.
* PLATT, J. 1962. “A Book
Model”, 167-169
* KELLER, E.F. 1995. Refiguring Life, Metaphors of
Twentieth-Century
Biology, chapter 3
*
KAY, L.E. “Cybernetics, Information, Life: The Emergence of Scriptural
Representations of Heredity”
III) Rethinking the “molecular revolution”
16 Feb: A
technological revolution? New research instruments for the life sciences
*
BEADLE, G.W., et al. 1946. “A proposed program of
research”, 1-6.
*
KAY, L.E. 1996. “Life as Technology”. *
*
RASSMUSSEN, N. 1996. “Making a Machine
Instrumental”.
21 Feb: A success for
science policy? The Rockefeller Foundation and American philanthropy
KAY,
L.E. 1993. The Molecular Vision of Life,
introduction, chapter 1
*
ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION. 1938. Annual Report.
* ABIR-AM, P. 2002. “The Rockefeller Foundation”.
*
GAUDILLIERE, J.-P. 2000. “Rockefeller strategies”.
23
Feb: An intellectual migration? Biophysics, the Atomic age and
émigrés
physicists
* MORANGE, M. 2000. A History of Molecular Biology, chapter
7
*
DELBRÜCK, M. 1949. “A Physicist Looks at Biology”.
*
RASMUSSEN, N. 1997. “The Mid-Century Biophysics Bubble”.
*
CREAGER, A. 2006. “Nuclear Energy in the Service of Biomedicine”.
IV) Presentations and discussion
28 Feb: Research
project presentation and discussion
V) Molecular biologists in power
1 Mar: Disciplinary
and institutional struggles: Europe and the United States
*
MCELHENY, V.K. 1964. “Research in Biology”.
*
CHARGAFF, E. 1963. Essays on Nucleic
Acids, chapter 11
*
CAIRNS, J. et al., eds. 1966. Phage and
the Origins of Molecular Biology,
Preface; Introduction.
*
BONNER, J. A 1966. “Sequence for Biology
Studies”.
*
BRANSON, D., and J. KLIMAS. 1966. “Molecular Biology for
Beginners”.
*
SALZEN, E. A. 1967. “Again, Classical Versus Molecular
Biology Studies”.
*
ABIR-AM, P. 1992. “The Politics of
Macromolecules”.
20 Mar: Molecularizing evolution and taxonomy
ZUCKERKANDL, E. and PAULING, L.
1962. “Molecular Disease, Evolution,
and Genic Heterogeneity”
WILSON, E.O. 1994. Naturalist, chapter 12
HAGEN, J. B. 1999.
“Naturalist, Molecular Biology, and the Challenge of
Molecular
Evolution”.
22 Mar: Eugenics made
scientific? Molecular biologists in the 60s
KAY, L.E. 1993. The Molecular Vision of Life, Epilogue
* PAULING, L. 1968. “Reflections on the New Biology”.
* SONNEBORN, T.M., ed. 1965. The Control of Human Heredity and Evolution,
chapter 5
* KEVLES, D.J. 1985. In the Name of Eugenics, chapter 17
* PAUL, D 1998. The Politics of Heredity, chapter 10
27
Mar:
Restriction and Modification: Multum ex parvo
* LURIA, S.E., and HUMAN, M.L. 1952, “A
Nonhereditary, Host-Induced
Variation of Bacterial Viruses”
*
BERTANI, G. and WEIGLE, J.J. 1952, “Host Controlled
Variation in Bacterial
Viruses”
* SMITH, H. and WILCOX, K. 1970, “A restriction enzyme
from Hemophilus
influenzae.”
*
DUSSOIX, D., and ARBER, W. 1962, “Host Specificity of DNA Produced
by Escherichia Coli”
* ARBER, W. 1965, “Host-Controlled Modification of
Bacteriophage.”
29 Mar: Organisms as laboratories: Recombinant DNA and its critics
* MORANGE, M. 2000. A History of Molecular Biology, chapter
16
* SINGER, M., and SOLL, D. 1973. “Guidelines for DNA Hybrid Molecules”.
* BERG, P. and al. 1974. “Letter”.
* BERG, P. et al., 1975. “Asilomar Conference”.
* VELLUCCI, A.E. to HANDLER, P.,
May 16, 1977.
* ROBERTS, R. 1978.
“Restriction endonucleases: a new role in
vivo?”
* KRIMSKY, S. 2005. “From Asilomar to Industrial
Biotechnology”.
3 Apr: Molecules for
cash: The rise of the biotech industry
KORNBERG, A. 1995.
The Golden Helix, chapter 1
MULLIS, K. 1998. Dancing Naked in the Mind Field, chapters 1-3 ;
10
KEVLES, D. 1998. “Diamond
v. Chakrabarty and Beyond.”
BUD, R. 1998. “Molecular Biology
and the Long-Term History of
Biotechnology”.
5 Apr:
Biology becomes a big sciences: The Human Genome
Project
KOSHLAND,
D.E. 1989. “Sequences and Consequences of the
Human
Genome”.
LURIA,
S. 1989. “Human Genome Program”.
KOSHLAND,
D.E. 1989. “Human Genome Program”.
FOX,
M.S., et al. 1990. “The Genome Project: Pro and
Con”.
ROBERTS,
L. 1990. “Genome Backlash Going Full Force”.
ROBERTS, L. 1990. “A Meeting of the Minds on the Genome Project?”
PRESTON, R. 2000. “The Genome Warrior”.
KEVLES, D.J. 1997. “Big Science and Big Politics in the United States”.
10 Apr: DNA in
popular culture: What does the icon stand for?
NELKIN, D. and
LINDEE, S. 2004 [1995]. The DNA Mystique,
chapter 1; 3; 6-7; 10
* KITCHER, P. 1982. “Genes”
12 Apr: Conclusions:
The molecular vision of life, past, present, future
* MARKS, J. 2003. “98% Chimpanzee and 35% Daffodil.”
* DUSTER, T. 2005. “Race and Reification in Science.”
* POLLACK, A. 2008. “Redefining Disease, Genes and All”.
* LEWIN, T. 2010. “College
Bound, DNA Swab in Hand”.
* SCHWARTZ, J. and POLLACK, A.
2010. “Judge Invalidates Human
Gene Patent”
* POLLACK, A. 2010.
“Gene-Testing Companies: Too Little Too Soon
for Success”
17 Apr: Review of the
course and discussion
This page last updated: 13 Jan 2012