Participants in this course will explore how science and technology studies (STS) scholars analyze the social dimensions of technology and science. This course is an introduction to how political, social, and economic factors shape the development of scientific concepts, medical practices, and technological designs and vice versa. These include how users help determine the contours of technologies, or how institutional structures encourage scientists to frame their work in particular ways. We will also discuss the political effects of scientific knowledge and specific technologies, exploring the costs and benefits of current techno-scientific arrangements. The course will emphasize STS approaches to environmental change, genetics and medicine, and digital identities and lives. The course will emphasize critical dialogue and collective analyses of contemporary techno-scientific practices.
Ali Kenner, "SCTS 101: Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society", contributed by Ali Kenner and Eliza Nobles, STS Infrastructures, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 21 August 2018, accessed 23 April 2024. https://stsinfrastructures.org/content/scts-101-introduction-science-technology-and-society
Critical Commentary
Participants in this course will explore how science and technology studies (STS) scholars analyze the social dimensions of technology and science. This course is an introduction to how political, social, and economic factors shape the development of scientific concepts, medical practices, and technological designs and vice versa. These include how users help determine the contours of technologies, or how institutional structures encourage scientists to frame their work in particular ways. We will also discuss the political effects of scientific knowledge and specific technologies, exploring the costs and benefits of current techno-scientific arrangements. The course will emphasize STS approaches to environmental change, genetics and medicine, and digital identities and lives. The course will emphasize critical dialogue and collective analyses of contemporary techno-scientific practices.