Biography Project
POINTS: 50 points (I've added 10 pts to what was in the original plan and removed 10 pts from the final)
Suggested DOCUMENTS:
Various sites on Kuhn, Lakatos, or both:
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy summary, a Lakatos argument, Lakatos from the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Kuhn from the Routledge Encyclopedia, Malcolm Forster, Outline of Kuhn's book, the Stanford Encyclopedia, Scientific Progress from the Stanford Encyclopedia,
The books:
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn Falsification and Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes, Lakatos (from Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge)
The goal is to analyze the life of a chosen physicist. I've prepared a list of people who I think led interesting lives and from whom you can learn some physics in the process.
As you can see below, this is not the standard "paper," but more of a project. There are three parts to the project:
Section 1. The first part is to create a Snapshot that tells the reader about the life of a physicist at a particular year in that person's life - a year, you can choose. Think of it as the package that that person might have prepared if they were looking for a job that year...So, write Section 1 in the first person singular, from the point of view of that physicist.
Section 2. Write about that person's time...the technologies, the politics, the art, etc.
Section 3. The third part is an analysis of their career, done within the context of Lakatos' or Kuhn's methodology of science.
Project Contents
Project sections:
1. Snapshot. A look at a particular year in the life of your physicist (remember, 1st person singular from your physicist's viewpoint). Choose a particular year in that person's professional life and presume that the material presented pertains to the work done up to that year. This section should contain:
A. Resume (1 page) for that physicist for their career to that particular year, which should contain
1. name, professional address
2. education history, degrees, etc.
3. employment history
4. personal information (married, children, etc)
5. awards, honors, professional society memberships
B. Research Accomplishments. A description of that persons research
1. work done up to that year (2 pages) Describe the physics research that they did and why it was important - remember, from their point of view. Enumeration of projects is fine, but with background and as detailed descriptions as possible given your background. I would like to see that you learned some physics.
2. current research (1 page) that they are engaged in at that year
3. future research plans (1 page) -- which, of course you know, since you know the rest of their career
C. Publication "highlights" (1 page or less) up to that year (enumeration is fine)
D. Personal interests (1 page or less) that they might have had.
2. Current and personal events (2 pages) Put your physicist into his or her time...their particular period, from that person's city/country's perspective. What was the dominant philosophy? Were they at war? Was there disease? What was the culture? What was the physicist's family life like? Healthy? Happy? or not?
3. Historicist Analysis. Description of a dominant scientific theme of this person's career in the context of either Kuhnian or Lakatosian ideas
A. Summarize the model (Kuhn or Lakatos) that you will use. (1-2 pages)
B. Analysis of one of the research projects that your physicist was known for within the model that you have chosen. This means identification of the Research Programme (if Lakatos) or Paradigm (if Kuhn), so it must include some of the background physics understanding as well as how your physicist worked within the tradition, changed the tradition, worked outside of the tradition, etc. (2-5 pages) Completeness and accuracy is important.
4. Bibliography of the resources you used.
Grading
In order, here's what I'll grade on:
1. physics - evidence that you learned some physics and that you got it right! Completeness and accuracy is important 20 points
2. biography - it should be complete and show scholarship and research on your part. 20 points
3. history of the time - place your person in his/her period, locally & internationally. 10 points
Go to the library and use the web and reference your sources.
The whole project should be typed in double-spaced, neatly done, research-paper quality format.
POINTS: 50 points (I've added 10 pts to what was in the original plan and removed 10 pts from the final)
Suggested DOCUMENTS:
Various sites on Kuhn, Lakatos, or both:
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy summary, a Lakatos argument, Lakatos from the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Kuhn from the Routledge Encyclopedia, Malcolm Forster, Outline of Kuhn's book, the Stanford Encyclopedia, Scientific Progress from the Stanford Encyclopedia,
The books:
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn Falsification and Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes, Lakatos (from Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge)
The goal is to analyze the life of a chosen physicist. I've prepared a list of people who I think led interesting lives and from whom you can learn some physics in the process.
As you can see below, this is not the standard "paper," but more of a project. There are three parts to the project:
Section 1. The first part is to create a Snapshot that tells the reader about the life of a physicist at a particular year in that person's life - a year, you can choose. Think of it as the package that that person might have prepared if they were looking for a job that year...So, write Section 1 in the first person singular, from the point of view of that physicist.
Section 2. Write about that person's time...the technologies, the politics, the art, etc.
Section 3. The third part is an analysis of their career, done within the context of Lakatos' or Kuhn's methodology of science.
Project Contents
Project sections:
1. Snapshot. A look at a particular year in the life of your physicist (remember, 1st person singular from your physicist's viewpoint). Choose a particular year in that person's professional life and presume that the material presented pertains to the work done up to that year. This section should contain:
A. Resume (1 page) for that physicist for their career to that particular year, which should contain
1. name, professional address
2. education history, degrees, etc.
3. employment history
4. personal information (married, children, etc)
5. awards, honors, professional society memberships
B. Research Accomplishments. A description of that persons research
1. work done up to that year (2 pages) Describe the physics research that they did and why it was important - remember, from their point of view. Enumeration of projects is fine, but with background and as detailed descriptions as possible given your background. I would like to see that you learned some physics.
2. current research (1 page) that they are engaged in at that year
3. future research plans (1 page) -- which, of course you know, since you know the rest of their career
C. Publication "highlights" (1 page or less) up to that year (enumeration is fine)
D. Personal interests (1 page or less) that they might have had.
2. Current and personal events (2 pages) Put your physicist into his or her time...their particular period, from that person's city/country's perspective. What was the dominant philosophy? Were they at war? Was there disease? What was the culture? What was the physicist's family life like? Healthy? Happy? or not?
3. Historicist Analysis. Description of a dominant scientific theme of this person's career in the context of either Kuhnian or Lakatosian ideas
A. Summarize the model (Kuhn or Lakatos) that you will use. (1-2 pages)
B. Analysis of one of the research projects that your physicist was known for within the model that you have chosen. This means identification of the Research Programme (if Lakatos) or Paradigm (if Kuhn), so it must include some of the background physics understanding as well as how your physicist worked within the tradition, changed the tradition, worked outside of the tradition, etc. (2-5 pages) Completeness and accuracy is important.
4. Bibliography of the resources you used.
Grading
In order, here's what I'll grade on:
1. physics - evidence that you learned some physics and that you got it right! Completeness and accuracy is important 20 points
2. biography - it should be complete and show scholarship and research on your part. 20 points
3. history of the time - place your person in his/her period, locally & internationally. 10 points
Go to the library and use the web and reference your sources.
The whole project should be typed in double-spaced, neatly done, research-paper quality format.