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Science Technology and Society

Module description

The module will invite students to question the taken-for-granted status of contemporary science and technology and to explore the relations between human as well as human/nonhuman interaction that unfold the complexities of social processes cultural specificities. The major conceptual approaches will be critically evaluated while key social, cultural and political issues will be explored. The module discusses along selected empirical data primarily post-humanist accounts in understanding science and technology to critically engage with central premises and concepts of objectivity, agency, knowledge, power, risk, responsible innovation, culture/nature divide, intersectionality and environmental issues.

Module aims - intentions of the module

To provide training in the essential skills of conducting and reporting research in the field of Science and Technology Studies. The module will invite students to question the taken-for-granted status of contemporary science and technology and to explore the relations between human as well as human/nonhuman interaction that unfold the complexities of social processes cultural specificities. The major conceptual approaches will be critically evaluated while key social, cultural and political issues will be explored. It aims to offer a post-humanist perspective on scientific practices and objects, emerging technologies, human-technology interaction, or human-environmental relations to interrogate human-centered understanding of science and technology, to re-address questions of agency, knowledge, risk and power relations. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate in writing and orally a detailed awareness and comprehension of the interaction between society, science, and technology, as well as the theories that explain this interaction.
• 2. Recognise the contribution of the social sciences to the analysis of science and technology, and its contribution to other disciplines.
• 3. Be able to critically evaluate in writing and orally the diversity of specialised techniques and approaches involved in producing research in Science and Technology Studies.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Analyse and synthesise different types of material and evidence.
• 5. Identify and assess the empirical usefulness of different theoretical approaches
• 6. Demonstrate sufficient initial knowledge to present independent interpretations.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Undertake independent study and research planning
• 8. Build and defend a sound argument both in written form and orally.
• 9. Co-ordinate group discussion

Syllabus plan

Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:

• Philosophical and sociological background;
• Science and Objectivity;
• Gender, Knowledge and Technology;
• Everyday Technologies;
• Actor Network Theory;
• Human and Non-Human Relations
• Risk Society
• Cosmopolitics
• STS and Agency
• Post-Humanism
• New Materialism
• Dis/abling STS 

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

B. Barnes, About Science (Blackwell, 1995).
B. Barnes, D. Bloor, J. Henry, Scientific Knowledge: a Sociological Analysis (Chicago, 1996).
The Cyberculture Reader, eds. D. Bell, B. Kennedy (Routledge, 2000).
M. Biagioli (ed.), The Science Studies Reader (Routledge, 1999).
M. Lederman, I. Bartsch (eds.), The Gender and Science Reader (Routledge, 2001).
B. Latour, Science in Action (Harvard, 1985).
J. Law, Organizing Modernity (Blackwell, 1994).
J. Golinski, Making Natural Knowledge (Cambridge U.P., 1998).
H. Collins, T. Pinch, The Golem: What You Should Know About Science (Cambridge U.P., 1993).
S. Jasanoff et al. (ed.), Handbook of Science and Technology Studies (Sage, 1995).
D. Haraway, Modest Witness @ Second Millenium (Routledge, 1997).
D. MacKenzie, Mechanizing Proof: Computing, Risk, and Trust (MIT Press, 2001).
D. Mackenzie, J. Wajcman (eds.), The Social Shaping of Technology (Open U.P., 1999).
J. Wajcman, Feminism confronts Technology (Penn State Press, 1992)

Key words search

Science Technology Society