PhD application

Exemplary writing

(graph of number of items in Isis bibliography under 'textbooks', year)

new analysis of textbooks. Use bibliometrics.

Submit paper on physicism.

Personal Statement

Thesis

The teaching of physics, my career, could be better informed by an understanding of the nature of physics, the historical paths of physics, and the society of physicists and consumers and patrons of physics.

Support

Cite Dear and Jasanoff's Dismantling Boundaries, Isis, Dec 2010 pp. 759-774. S&TS and history of science are morphing, and may serve new purposes in the future. It may be that a subset of physicists at Cornell deserve some training in the history and philosophy and sociology of their science, and that could even be a two-way street, both scientists and the rest sharing training on understanding each other's work.

Conclusion

I should study the history and sociology and philosophy of science, particularly physics, to reap the benefits of methods and philosophies that will inform my colleagues' work on preparing future scientists, not only in how to couch our content, but even to delve into questioning the shape of the content itself.