Project Components
The project should cover the following elements:
-
identify and give some context for a historical episode
of scientific activity related to polar exploration;
-
identify a historical question about a person, artifact,
institution, or idea involved in that episode;
-
identify an issue in the philosophy of science that
might plausibly be illuminated by this episode and
question;
-
describe how you investigated the historical question,
using primary or secondary historical materials documented
in the portfolio;
-
explain whether your investigation of the episode
provided any illumination of the philosophical issue.
['No' is an acceptable answer, but if not, why not?]
Generic Project Ideas
-
Pick member of the scientific staff for an
expedition, explain their scientific interests and training prior to the
expedition, why they went on the expedition, what investigations they
carried out during the expedition, and their post-expedition
scientific legacy or career. What does this tell us about
scientific knowledge production by individuals?
-
Pick a polar expedition and research how the scientific staff were
picked and what were the conditions, successes, and failings of their
scientific work during the expedition.
-
Pick an artifact (ship, equipment, building, etc.) and describe
its role in polar science.
-
Investigate an institution or institutional event
(e.g. international polar year) that shaped
polar science.
-
Describe a scientific-disciplinary theme (e.g. medical,
physiological, biological, geological, oceanographic,
meteorological, ethnographic, etc.) or scientific-value theme
(e.g. internationalization of science, environmental changes
caused by scientific activity, exclusion/inclusion of
underrepresented groups in polar science expeditions, etc.)
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