From https://www.jmu.edu/bsisat/academics/curriculum/year-1-and-2/index.shtml:
“Three main course sequences compose ISAT Foundations:
Issues in Science and Technology: This sequence of five courses (ISAT 112, 113, 211, 215, and 212) engages students in the practice of science, both to motivate and to provide an understanding of science and technology in the context of important current social issues. Current areas from which issues are selected are living systems, the environment, modern production, internet networking and security and energy.
Analytical Methods: This sequence of five courses (ISAT 151, 152, 251, 252 and 253) provides students with basic methods and tools for understanding and analyzing problems in science and technology. Subjects are taught in an integrated manner with applications as the unifying factor. Topics include calculus, elements of the physical sciences, statistics, project management, the computer, knowledge-based systems, and instrumentation and measurement.
Social Context of Technology and Science: This two-course sequence (ISAT 131 and 231) introduces the student to the broader issues encountered in science and technology problem-solving, particularly social, ethical, economic and legal issues….
Beginning in 2016, the ISAT Program added a Holistic Problem-Solving Spine to its curriculum. ISAT students now complete ISAT 190 (Introduction to ISAT) during their first year. Then they complete ISAT 290 (Systems Thinking) in their second year. In the first two courses (190 and 290), students learn and apply systems thinking methodology to investigate, define, and describe complex problems.”
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This photo, taken by Emily York, shows the east campus, with the College of Integrated Science and Engineering on the right:
The College of Integrated Science and Engineering at James Madison University in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
Emily York and Integrated Science and Technology program at James Madison University, "Integrated Science and Technology Program at James Madison University", contributed by , STS Infrastructures, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 14 August 2019, accessed 30 December 2024. https://stsinfrastructures.org/content/integrated-science-and-technology-program-james-madison-university
Critical Commentary
The School of Integrated Sciences (SIS) at James Madison University (JMU) hosts the STS Futures Lab. Lab co-PIs Emily York and Shannon N. Conley are faculty in SIS, with primary teaching obligations in the ABET-accredited applied science undergraduate B.S. program in Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT). ISAT has a large, multi-disciplinary faculty, including faculty with training in the social sciences, natural sciences, computing, and engineering. This environment inspired York and Conley to develop STS pedagogies that would be accessible and relevant to undergraduate ISAT students and to find ways of collaborating with colleagues across disciplinary boundaries.