First Year Seminar 191CNS56 - FYS- Topics in CNS

First-year (R1ST) Title: Unlocking Knowledge: The Open Science Movement
Who makes scientific discoveries, and who benefits from them? Should your textbooks be free? In this course, we will discuss the "Open Science" movement, which aims to make scientific research, data, and publications accessible to everyone. To achieve this, people have been advocating for free educational resources, open source software, and general public engagement and participation in science. We will explore the motivations behind this movement, survey current practices, and evaluate their impacts. We will also discuss these issues from different stakeholders' perspectives, including researchers, government, and you. Additionally, you will learn skills to help you succeed in your first semester at UMass Amherst.