STS program list
Below are a list of STS programs that are featured on the main map page. The information included has been taken from the programs’ websites.
If you feel your program is missing, or has erroneous information, please get in touch with us by e-mailing stsworld@stsnext20.org, which will be forwarded to the current STS World@STS.Next.20 editor.
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Colby College, Science, Technology, and Society
http://www.colby.edu/academics_cs/acaddept/sts/
The intellectual roots of STS lie in the history, philosophy, and social study of science and technology, an arena where often-controversial issues and choices interface with values and influence public policy. STS prepares students to understand both the technical and social dimensions of science and technology, helps them become more thoughtful and better-informed citizens of our high-tech society, and develops their critical interdisciplinary thinking, research, and communication skills. Students flourish intellectually in an environment where critical questioning is encouraged and opportunities for research are abundant. The STS program maintains a full slate of guest speakers, often co-sponsored by other departments, for the benefit of students and the larger community.
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Stanford University, Program in Science, Technology and Society
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/bulletin/6069.htm
Technology and science are activities of central importance in contemporary life, intimately bound up with society’s evolving character, problems, and potentials. If scientific and technological pursuits are to further enhance human well-being, they and their effects on society and the individual must be better understood by non-technical professionals and ordinary citizens as well as by engineers and scientists. Issues of professional ethics and social responsibility confront technical practitioners. At the same time, lawyers, public officials, civil servants, and business people are increasingly called upon to make decisions requiring a basic understanding of science and technology and their ethical, social, and environmental consequences. Ordinary citizens, moreover, are being asked with increasing frequency to pass judgment on controversial matters of public policy related to science and technology in society. These circumstances require education befitting the complex sociotechnical character of the contemporary era.
Science, Technology, and Society (STS) is a program devoted to understanding the natures, consequences, origins, and shaping of technological and scientific activities in modern and contemporary societies. Students in STS courses study science and technology in society from a variety of perspectives in the humanities and social sciences. To provide a basic understanding of technology and science, STS majors are also required to achieve either theoretical literacy (B.A.) or a solid grasp of practical fundamentals (B.S.) in some area of engineering or science.
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University of California, Davis, Science & Technology Studies
Science and Technology Studies is designed to facilitate the analysis and synthesis of science, technology, and medicine in a way that actively creates connections between the varieties of perspectives and concerns in the humanities and the sciences. The STS major takes science, technology, medicine, and their social, political, economic, and cultural contexts as its objects of study. As such, the STS major draws on the research programs of faculty in a wide range of departments, including american studies, anthropology, economics, environmental science and policy, history, philosophy, political science and sociology. Students in STS pursue a broader understanding of science than is available within traditional science majors and is also suitable for students in the social sciences interested in interpreting science, technology and medicine as part of society and culture.
STS prepares students for careers that address the broader social, cultural and political ramifications of science, technology and medicine such as law, journalism, public policy, economics, government, and science education. In addition to academic careers in STS, students have pursued careers systems engineering, Web site design, science museums, non-profit health organizations, government service, libraries, law, medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, nursing, teaching, public health administration, media companies, management consultant practice, and the Peace Corps.
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University of Chicago, Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science
The Committee on the Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science (CHSS) is a graduate program at the University of Chicago that offers students the opportunity to work toward the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in areas concerned with the foundations, history, philosophy, and social relations of science. Though faculty interests range broadly, CHSS has particular strength in the history and philosophy of physics, astronomy, mathematics, evolutionary biology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and communications.
CHSS has a special focus on the history of the human sciences. In collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for History of Science in Berlin, CHSS has established an exchange program; this program offers graduate students opportunity to conduct research abroad in the history of the human sciences (broadly conceived).
CHSS differs from other programs in the history and philosophy of science in its emphasis on the importance of training in science. In the CHSS program, students earn a Masters degree either in a science (or mathematics), or in history, or in philosophy. If they choose history or philosophy, they also take six courses in a science or mathematics appropriate to their level of preparation (from undergraduate to graduate level courses). CHSS maintains close cooperative relations with the Fishbein Center for the History of Science and Medicine (within the Department of History), the Department of Philosophy, and the undergraduate program in the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HiPSS).
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University of York, Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU)
The Science & Technology Studies Unit, in the Department of Sociology, is a specialist unit dedicated to rigorous analysis of the social dynamics informing contemporary and prospective science and technology. It has an established international reputation as a centre of excellence in three areas: the sociology of the biosciences, mobilities, informatics and space, and science and technology governance.
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• Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society (IAS-STS)
http://www.ifz.tugraz.at/ias/IAS-STS/The-Institute
IAS-STS is, broadly speaking, an Institute for the enhancement of Science and Technology Studies.
The IAS-STS was found to give around a dozen international researchers each year – for up to nine months – the opportunity to explore the issues published in our annually changing fellowship programme.
Within the frame of this fellowship programme the IAS-STS promotes the interdisciplinary investigation of the links and interaction between science, technology and society as well as research on the development and implementation of socially and environmentally sound, sustainable technologies.
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Aarhus University, Centre for STS-Studies
STS-research involves sociological, anthropological and philosophical theories on relationships, networks and configurations that cut across the traditional divide between science, technology and society. A main assumption is that one should not generally and theoretically determine human and technologies on properties and relationships. It is up to the empirical studies to determine how technological artifacts and people to be tied together in specific situations.
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Arizona State University, Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes (CSPO)
The Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes is an intellectual network aimed at enhancing the contribution of science and technology to society’s pursuit of equality, justice, freedom, and overall quality of life. The Consortium creates knowledge and methods, cultivates public discourse, and fosters policies to help decision makers and institutions grapple with the immense power and importance of science and technology as society charts a course for the future.
Science and technology (S&T) have become the most powerful transforming forces in society, allowing people to escape fundamental need; fostering innovation and economic growth; fighting scourges like smallpox, polio, and AIDS; and joining billions of people together in information and communication networks that serve democracy as well as commerce. But the profound changes brought about by S&T have led as well to negative impacts–often unanticipated. From the industrial revolution to the information revolution, the march of scientific and technological progress has left in its wake unemployment, cultural dislocation, economic inequity, environmental destruction, even war and disease.
Just as science and technology affect our world, they are affected by public policy decisions about how research funds are allocated, priorities established, the research enterprise organized, knowledge communicated and applied, and accountability maintained. Policy decisions influence the societal consequences–the outcomes–of scientific research in realms as diverse as the economy, the environment, health, governance, national security, and social structure.
While it is clear that S&T contribute to large scale societal transformations, our current understanding of how they do so is inadequate, and this leaves us unprepared for the task of planning for the future. Today, decision makers lack the tools necessary to plan for, respond to, and integrate into public policy the dynamo of S&T progress that continually reshapes our world.
Our incomplete understanding of the impacts and effects of S&T leads to such paradoxical outcomes as AIDS drugs that work in post-industrial cultures but are thus far largely irrelevant to the developing world due to challenges of cost and distribution, and genetically modified crops that have the potential to boost nutrition and agricultural productivity but are fiercely opposed on cultural and environmental grounds.
Our lack of understanding also results in disparities between science goals and achievements. In the U.S. and abroad, much publicly funded science is explicitly promoted and justified in terms of the quest for specified societal outcomes, such as those listed in the table below. The enormous challenge of using science to contribute to such desired outcomes rests upon the ability to implement appropriate science policies.
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Bar Ilan University, Science, Technology & Society
The Graduate Program in Science, Technology and Society at Bar Ilan invites you to take part in an intellectual adventure, studying science and technology with rigor and creativity, from a perspective that incorporates many disciplines: history, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, literary criticism, critical theory, and much more. Our students gain the tools needed to understand science, technology and medicine from a broad and critical perspective. Our faculty appreciates the majesty of contemporary scientific achievements as well as its storied history, which are a great tribute to human ingenuity, yet we also appreciate the complicated, ambivalent, and sometimes dangerous ways in which science, technology and society interact.
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Bard College, Science, Technology, and Society
The interrelation of scientific and technological systems with social and political life is perhaps the most pressing issue of modern society. The concentration in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) provides a rigorous approach to this area in conjunction with a primary discipline in the social sciences, arts, literature, or the natural sciences. Students can use the resources of STS for the extra-disciplinary exploration often demanded by contemporary issues in technology and science, while the primary academic or scientific field – for instance anthropology, physics, or music – provides a base of methodological skills and perspective. One benefit of this structure is that STS can provide the institutional grounding for interests — such as science fiction, non-fiction science writing, the economy of social networking, toxicology or even game design — that previously had no ready ‘home’ in a primary program. Please note that the STS program incorporates the previous program in the “History and Philosophy of Science” (HPS), which is now a field of study within it.
The STS program hopes to foster a critical community engaged in understanding science and its relation to society, and to promote contact among students across different fields and divisions. Students in STS are encouraged, but not required, to have a practical ‘hands-on’ technological, artistic, or a policy component to their education, preferably in collective projects in their junior year. Recent suggestions that might form models for this include the construction of radio transmission equipment [Radio Free Bard], the development of Bio-diesel equipment for school vehicles, or the study of construction and engineering techniques for work in developing countries. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, students in STS are encouraged to take tutorials in fields pertaining to areas of interest for such projects, but should plan ahead so that they have taken any introductory courses in an area where they may later need to take a specific tutorial. A student interested in nautical design, for instance, could take basic physics or calculus before approaching faculty for a tutorial on designing a boat.
Senior projects in STS are focused on the requirements of the primary program area, and thus will principally be written or artistic products, or laboratory investigations. Senior Projects should, however, contain broader questions raised by STS. Such questions might include: How can developments in science and technology best be conveyed to the public or understood aesthetically? Can or should society or government control the development of technology or ‘big science’? How do professional expectations, funding, or cultural norms influence particular research programs or laboratory situations? A senior project in biology and STS, for instance, might look not only at a particular biological problem of epidemiology, but at the economic, political or public health dimension of disease prevention surrounding the specific disease.
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Bielefeld University, Institute for Science and Technology Studies (IWT)
http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/iwt/index.html
The Institute of Science and Technology Studies (IWT) is concerned with investigating the institutional and epistemic forms of science and technology, their patterns of change, and the accompanying ethical challenges and social consequences.
Reflecting on the epistemic, social, and historical dimensions of science and technology requires long-term and interdisciplinary research. Scholars with a background in sociology, philosophy and history, among other disciplines, collaborate at IWT. In addition, science and technology studies open up relations to the sciences and engineering. Besides interdisciplinary research and teaching at several university departments, the IWT is also engaged in postgraduate training.
The IWT is the only interdisciplinary centre in science and technology studies at a German university. It is well connected with leading international institutions in science and technology studies. The IWT was founded in 1993 as a central scientific institute at Bielefeld University. -
Brown University, The Committee on Science & Technology Studies
http://www.brown.edu/Faculty/COSTS/
Students and scholars in the field of science and technology studies want to know how scientific knowledge is produced. We believe that the idealized accounts of knowledge production entrenched in our scientific belief system are inadequate, given the complexity of the process they claim to describe.
STS scholars seek to understand how science operates by analyzing historical case studies, observing contemporary scientists at work, examining representations of scientific ideas in textbooks or journals, and studying the infrastructure of scientific institutions.
This interdisciplinary field brings together anthropologists, philosophers, historians, art historians, literary theorists, sociologists and practicing scientists and technologists.
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California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Science Technology & Society
http://www.class.csupomona.edu/phl/sts/
Science, Technology, and Society (STS) is an interdisciplinary area of research and teaching which integrates knowledge in the natural sciences and in technology as well as in the humanities and social sciences to study science and technology in relation to society. STS focuses on the following sorts of issues:
(1) General issues about the authority of science, such as the questions of what science is, and how it is different from pseudoscience, and the reliability of research science;
(2) Questions regarding the impact of science and technology on societies; and
(3) Questions regarding how local, national and global political interests affect scientific inquiry and technological development.
These three sorts of questions interrelate in complicated ways. Consider the debate about global warming. This debate obviously raises issues concerning the impact of technology on societies, but it also raises issues about the reliability of the scientific research involved in identifying this impact, the use and interpretation of this research by political leaders and public policy makers, and the effect of public policy in driving possible technological solutions.
The STS undergraduate Major has existed in the US since the late 1960s and early 1970s, with programs at Cornell University, Lehigh University, and Stanford University. By now, there are about 35 universities and colleges in the US which offer an STS Major (and most of these institutions also offer an STS Minor alongside the Major, as does Cal Poly Pomona). The Cal Poly Pomona program primarily follows one of several broad traditions within STS which sociologist and STS scholar Steve Fuller has dubbed ‘Low Church STS’, namely ‘a nascent social movement that has been historically promoted by science and engineering teachers concerned with the social implications of mainly technology but increasingly science’ (Fuller, Field notes: Constructing the High Church-Low Church Distinction in STS Textbooks, 1997) -
Cardiff University, Centre for the Study of Knowledge Expertise Science (KES)
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/research/researchcentres/kes/index.html
KES is a university-wide, internationally known, research centre specialising in the nature of expertise in science and society. KES draws together researchers from the sociology and history of science, sociology of scientific and medical knowledge, philosophy of science and journalism, media and cultural studies. The main focus of the Centre’s work is the developing the new Studies in Expertise and Experience (SEE) through case studies of pure and applied sciences as well as projects investigating public understanding of, and participation in, science. Current and recent research projects have examined on topics including experimental and theoretical physics; genetics and biomedicine; economic theory and forecasting; automation and intelligent machines; technology transfer; deliberative methods; GM crops and products; health policies for AIDS and MMR; climate change.
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Central University of Gujarat, School of Social Sciences, Centre for Studies in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (CSSTIP)
Centre for Studies in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy focuses on imparting an interdisciplinary orientation within the broad sphere of Science, Technology and Society (STS) studies, specifically dwelling upon perspectives from history, sociology and philosophy of science, socio-economic aspects of technological change and innovation studies. These would be supplemented by rigorous training in quantitative and qualitative dimensions of research, especially in methods related to technology assessment and forecasting. The method of assessment would be through preparation of case studies of emerging technologies, term papers, presentations, besides examinations and a dissertation/thesis, both at the M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels. Currently, the centre offers M.Phil./ Ph.D. programme on Science, Society and Development. The objective would be to equip the students to analyze and develop policy related insights in sectors as diverse as agriculture, health care, information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, climate change etc and find sustainable solutions to real world problems. The programme would enable them to be placed in sectors as diverse as government and civil society organizations, besides academia.
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Claremont Colleges, Science, Technology, and Society Program
The Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program of the Claremont Colleges examines the character and cultural significance of science and technology through interdisciplinary studies in science, humanities and social sciences.
Pitzer, Pomona, and Scripps offer an STS concentration or major. Pomona and Pitzer also offer minors in STS. Harvey Mudd students may concentrate through one of these colleges or may design an Independent Program of Studies in STS at Harvey Mudd. CMC students have completed the program as an off-campus major
All majors/concentrations include:
Four “science and technology practice” courses (science and/or engineering)
Four STS “context and theory” courses in historical studies, philosophy, and social science approaches
Three “concentration” courses on an S&T issue or in a cognate discipline; this can include an optional thesis
STS 191, Senior Integrative Seminar (senior exercise)
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Collegium Helveticum, Zurich
http://www.unilu.ch/eng/kuwifo_826342.html
Cultural Studies encompasses all areas of human life: social structures, institutions, human relations, politics, economics, art, literature, theatre, science, and technology. The variety of cultures and their historical development are equally as interesting as the role of power and the emergence of social, aesthetic, and epistemic orders, but it is essential to study these aspects without creating a hierarchy of different cultures, such as by establishing precedence for high culture over low. In fact, such demarcations are subject to investigation in their own right, accompanied by a critical reflection on our own culture that aims to facilitate a deeper understanding of the bases of our thoughts and actions. With a concept of culture that is geared towards meaning, knowledge and symbols, Cultural Studies places its focus on those processes through which communities form an understanding of the world that shapes social structures, research, self-image, and the conduct of individuals and groups.
Science and the humanities have played a key role in the development of modern cultures and the current global situation. This is not only because of the influence of technical innovations and scientific interpretations of the world, but also because of the continuing application of science to all areas of life and the exchanges between science and other forms of knowledge that ensue. This entanglement of science, economics, politics, and everyday life in knowledge-based societies is at the center of the research carried out at the Department of Cultural and Science Studies. The projects focus on the history, theory, and practice of knowledge cultures, on how scientific knowledge is produced and how it circulates beyond groups of experts. What scientific content, technologies, and moral concepts find their way into private, public, popular and artistic spheres? To which media, objects, images, and texts are these processes bound? And what are the cultural requirements for scientific work? Concomitantly, we ask which kinds of knowledge are not disseminated, and why this is the case. What myths and cultural norms are conveyed in this fashion, and what power structures are put in place? Which knowledge is accepted and applied, and which is resisted or ignored?
The courses offered by the Department of Cultural and Science Studies deal with these kinds of horizontal questions in close connection with social change, political reality, and every day events. The complexity of the phenomenon of “culture” requires a combination of scholarly perspectives, however. The Integrated Degree Program in Cultural Studies (ISK) is the only course in Switzerland that offers an interdisciplinary program focusing on the shared cultural approach of the disciplines involved: history, ethnology, sociology, philosophy, political science, science studies, Jewish studies, and religious studies. Students learn to understand their subject from a cultural perspective. A strong focus is also placed on the methods, theories, and history of transdisciplinary cultural studies, and on its innovative fields, including the history of knowledge, post-colonial studies, and media analysis.
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Cornell University, Department of Science & Technology Studies (S&TS)
In light of the importance of science and technology (S&T) in the world today, there is a need for scholarly work on its social dimensions. The Department of Science & Technology Studies is dedicated to research and teaching about scientific knowledge and technology in its social context. In their research, faculty members examine S&T both in contemporary societies and through historical investigations. The goal is to build a body of theory and empirical findings about:
The social processes through which scientific and technical knowledge—whether packaged into texts, people, machines, images, or other forms—is created, evaluated, challenged, spread, transformed, and fitted into social relations.
The ways people use, reconfigure, and contest scientific knowledge and technology.
The normative issues entangled in scientific and technological developments.
The place of science and technology in the modern world.
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Ecole Normale Superieure des Mines de Paris
http://www.csi.ensmp.fr/index.php?page=accueil&lang=en
The Center for the Sociology of Innovation (CSI), founded in 1967, is a research laboratory of the Ecole des Mines de Paris. In 2001 the Center, which has a staff of 30, became a research unit associated to the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) in Sociology (section 36) and Political Science (section 40). The current director of the CSI is Madeleine Akrich. Work undertaken at the CSI concerns scientific, technical and cultural innovation. Rather than focusing on a traditional opposition between basic and applied research, the Center emphasizes a reflexive conception of the relationships with the actors studied. Academic work of a high standard is combined with research contracts with various partners (ministries, public agencies, regional authorities, European institutions, large firms, SMEs, non-governmental organizations, etc.).
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Emory University, Science, Culture & Society
http://www.scienceandsociety.emory.edu/
The Emory College Program in Science & Society aims to instill the thrill and importance of science in Emory students, especially non-science majors, and in the Emory and Atlanta communities at large.
We promote a better understanding of the impact of science on society, and work with the Science, Social Science, and Humanities disciplines to convey the message that science is vital across disciplines – that science is not merely a collection of facts but is, at its core, a way of thinking and of approaching problems.
We invite you to join us as we continue to explore the interface of science with social issues, including ethics, religion, and morality.
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European University at St. Petersburg, Center for Research Science and Technology
http://www.eu.spb.ru/research-centers/sts
Center for Research Science and Technology (Center for STS) – Russia’s first facility, whose main purpose is to coordinate the STS researchers from the European University, Moscow and other regions. The center was created with support from Cornell University (where he created the world’s first STS-faculty), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute of Political Studies (Scinces Po, Paris) and University of Exeter (UK). The objectives of the center is coordinating activities between STS scholars from Russia, USA and Europe.
Center provides education in the following areas: training of professionals in the field of science and technology studies (STS); training of research personnel for the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology for technology transfer centers, technology parks, to universities and research centers in the country, are trained and expert personnel management for technology businesses and public corporations.
The staff of the center is carrying out scientific and applied research in the following areas: research in the sociology of science, sociology, art, anthropology, art, history, science and technology, preparation of cross-cultural research projects.
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Georgia Institute of Technology, School of History, Technology & Society; Program in History & Sociology of Technology & Science
Welcome to the School of History, Technology, and Society (HTS), an interdisciplinary unit within the Ivan Allen College, consisting of scholars from history and sociology.
HTS brings the perspective of the social sciences to bear on critical issues facing the modern world, while providing a source of analysis that emphasizes both change over time and cultural comparisons on an international scale.
HTS takes a special interest in issues of science and technology as they affect human society. The School’s focus on the social origins and impact of industry, science, and technology is distinctive and offers the tools students need to understand the complex issues related to the development of contemporary communities.
HTS faculty have won numerous teaching and research awards, and we are particularly committed to outstanding teaching and research. The School offers a BS degree; undergraduate minors in history, sociology, and women, science, and technology; and certificate programs not only in history and sociology but also in African American studies, Asian Affairs, and European Affairs. Graduate students can earn a MS or PhD degree in the History and Sociology of Technology and Science.
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Georgia Tech, School of Public Policy
http://www.spp.gatech.edu/aboutus/aboutspp
We house one of the world’s top programs in the field of science and technology (S&T) policy. We are a university partner in the European Union’s network of excellence in technology and innovation policy (“PRIME”), and we host a major international conference on S&T policy that brings participants from every continent. Because nearly every policy area is intertwined with S&T issues — the environment, communications, transportation, biotechnology and health, urban development, workforce and education, — the School is at the center of a wide range of important international, national, and state policy questions.
Our faculty members are research oriented, with over $10 million in research underway. Our degrees are analytically oriented, developing skills increasingly in demand in the policy world as data and powerful software becomes more readily available and policy challenges grow more complex. Because our degree programs are smaller than most, there are opportunities at all levels for students to become involved in research, from the fast growing numbers of undergraduate students helping on faculty research projects to the opportunities many of our PhD students have to publish scholarly papers.
Our School emphasizes professional level analysis of the ethical and philosophical dimensions of policy. Our philosophers help you consider not just how things have been and how they are, but how they ought to be. We are unusual among policy schools in having an active research program at the intersection of philosophy, ethics and policy.
In our School, you will be taught by award winning teachers. You can experience policy development in projects, studios and internships that use our location in the vibrant, state capital – Atlanta – as a source of real world policy problems and contacts. You will find opportunities for international engagement, with research conducted jointly partners around the world, internationally oriented faculty and students, and opportunities for international exchange in our graduate programs. We offer a unique and forward-looking environment.
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Goteborg University, Department of Sociology
Department of Science and Technology Studies is since 2003 part of the Department of Sociology. It is primarily research-oriented and seeks to contribute to improved understanding of how science, technology and society in what is sometimes described as a “seamless” interaction with each other. Its areas of interest include among other things, risk regulation and environmental policy, medical science and gender, science communication and civic engagement in the issues circling around science and technology (“public understanding of science”), and changed the terms and conditions for innovation in areas such as IT, media, nanotechnology , healthcare, and security technology.
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Harvard University, Program on Science, Technology & Society (STS)
The Program on Science, Technology and Society (STS) at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government is dedicated to enhancing the quality of research, education, and public debate on the role of science and technology in contemporary societies. Through integrated, cross-disciplinary initiatives in research, teaching, training, and public outreach the Program seeks to develop foundational, policy-relevant insights into the nature of science and technology, and the ways in which they both influence and are influenced by society, politics, and culture. Among the fields that significantly contribute to the STS Program’s core mission are science and technology studies, anthropology, comparative politics, history, government, law, and sociology.
The Program takes as its point of departure salient issues at the intersection of science, technology, and public policy. It illuminates these through rigorous and sustained research on both national and international topics. Research projects in the STS Program range broadly across the legal, political, and cultural studies of science and technology, but program faculty and fellows have developed a special focus on topics involving the life sciences, especially genetics, biotechnology, and the environment.
The Program addresses several broad and overlapping constituencies:
Harvard University students, faculty, fellows, and visiting scholars interested in science, technology, and society;
Kennedy School faculty and students with policy interests that intersect with developments in science, technology, medicine, and society;
Harvard scientists active in or concerned with social and ethical issues in science, engineering, and medicine;
Boston area faculty and students, including those from MIT, who share disciplinary interests in science and technology studies;
Scientists, policymakers, journalists, museum workers, and others concerned with the ethical, legal, and social implications of contemporary science and technology.
To serve these constituencies, the STS Program sponsors a weekly discussion group, public lectures and panels, and occasional larger events such as conferences and workshops, often in collaboration with other Harvard academic units and research centers.
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Illinois Institute of Technology, Department of Social Sciences
http://www.iit.edu/csl/socs/about/
IIT’s Department of Social Sciences offers three undergraduate degrees: 1) a Bachelor of Science in Sociology, 2) a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, and 3) an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences. The department offers minors in political science and sociology, and participates with other IIT departments in offering interdisciplinary minors in the philosophy and sociology of science; law and society; technology and human affairs; and urban affairs.
We also offer a pair of accelerated degree programs: a B.S./J.D. program with IIT’s Chicago-Kent College of Law that can be completed in six years and a B.S./M.P.A. program with IIT Stuart School of Business that can be completed in five years.
Our department also offers courses to help IIT students in other majors round out their educations and meet the university’s General Education requirements for graduation. Note that only the courses from Sociology, Anthropology and Political Science disciplines are administered through our department. Other social sciences courses are offered through the College of Psychology (psychology) and the Stuart School of Business (economics).
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Institut Francilien Recherche Innovation Société (IFRIS)
IFRIS (French Institute for Studies of Research and Innovation in Society) was created in April 2007. It brings together over 180 researchers, and doctoral students in a wide range of disciplines in Social Sciences and Humanities (STS, sociology, management, history of science, economics and political science). IFRIS members are attached to different research groups belonging to different academic institutions: CNAM, CNRS, EHESS, INRA, IRD, Université Paris-Est, Université Paris 13.
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Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology at the Goethe University
http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/65011933/Profile-MA-Program
MA Program: “Science and Technology Studies: Economies, Governance, Life”
The MA Program takes up internationally acclaimed research programs and theoretical discussions in Science and Technology Studies (STS) and combines them with state-of-the-art perspectives on global economic processes and new forms of power, beyond the state and its institutions. STS scholars today are concerned with material artefacts and technological devices, as well as with social practices, cultural knowledge, and human biology.
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Jawaharal Nehru University, New Delhi, Centre for Studies in Science Policy (CSSP)
http://www.jnu.ac.in/Academics/Schools/SchoolOfSocialSciences/CSSP/default.htm
The Centre for Studies in Science Policy (CSSP) is unique to the Indian University system. Designed as a combined teaching and research effort, the CSSP explores various dimensions of the science-technology-society interface. Though oriented principally as an academic programme, the CSSP is nonetheless also committed to engaging with contemporary policy challenges. Research themes that currently comprise faculty and student concerns involve: science, technology and innovation policies; university – industry relations; intellectual property rights; gender relations in science and technology; globalization of innovation; internationalization of R&D; technology and environment; scientists in organizations and technology futures studies.
The Centre is open to students for admission from a variety of social and natural sciences, technology studies, engineering, medicine, law and management disciplines. The current focus of teaching and research at the Centre is on science and technology policy analyses including innovation policies; sociology of science and technology; social history of science and technology; economics of technological change and innovation studies; technology futures studies; gender studies in science and technology; science and technology for development; international affairs in science and technology and management of intellectual property rights.
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Johns Hopkins University, History of Science and Technology
http://host.jhu.edu/index.html
The History of Science and Technology Department concentrates on science and technology since the Renaissance and has particular strength in the history of early-modern science and the history of American science and technology. Faculty interests extend to such subjects as history of architecture, the emergence of science cities, the iconography of science, science and exploration, and science and religion.
Research interests of the faculty are described on their individual web pages, which you can find by browsing our directory.
The Department encourages applications in the following broad areas:
Early modern alchemy/chemistry, cosmology, natural history, in Europe and North and South America;
Technology in 19th-20th centuries; including history of engineering and related disciplines.
Modern physical sciences, 19th-20th centuries;
Biological sciences, especially history of evolution, genetics, ecology, behavioral biology, physiology; Environmentalism as it relates to ecological sciences.
Science in Latin America;
East Asian science and technology, especially in Korea, Japan or China in modern period;
Museums and modern society. The Department works with curators and research historians at the Smithsonian Institution to sponsor workshops, student internships, courses, and other activities; and cooperates in the undergraduate Program in Museums and Society (director, Elizabeth Rodini).
The Department runs its teaching programs and colloquium in cooperation with the Department of History of Medicine, at the Johns Hopkins Medical School. (For a description of the program, faculty, and students in history of medicine, go to the website of the Institute of the History of Medicine of the Johns Hopkins University.)
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Kings College London (KCL), Bioethics and Society, Centre for Biomedicine and Society (CBAS), Medicine, Science and Society
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/interdisciplinary?m=print
Centre for Biomedicine & Society (CBAS) is a new centre for social science research on Medicine, Science & Society. It focuses particularly on translational research issues relating to the shift of innovative therapies from ‘the bench to the bedside’ and on the politics of the global bioeconomy. Much of the interdisciplinary research of CBAS combines Medical Sociology, Science Studies and Politics in novel ways to explore the far-reaching personal and socio-political effects of what have been described as ‘biomedical revolutions’ in fields such as stem cells and genomics.
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Lancaster University, Centre for Science Studies
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/centres/css/index.php
Our research problematises the construction of scientific knowledge and expert authority. We take diverse approaches including feminist STS, actor-network theory (and after), cultural analyses of science, anthropological and postcolonial technoscience studies.
Our work extends across…
- Health Technologies and New Reproductive Technologies
- Large Technical Systems, Risk, and Technical Catastrophe
- Information and Communication Technologies, their Design and Human-Computer Interaction
- Critical innovation studies
- Spatiality, Method, and Organisational analysis
- Environmental Philosophy and Public Policy
- Military Technologies
- Anthropological and Postcolonial Technoscience
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Lehigh University, Science, Technology, and Society Studies
The interdisciplinary field of Science, Technology, and Society Studies examines the ways in which society influences the creation of scientific knowledge and technological development. At the same time, it seeks to understand the ways science and technology affect our lives and communities.These perspectives, combined with complementary education in a traditional discipline, prepare the STS student for graduate study or for a wide range of career opportunities. Upon graduation students might use their skills in government, business, or non-profit sectors in policy analysis, planning, or research.
The STS Program at Lehigh University was founded in 1972 and is one of the oldest such programs in the United States. It is the product of a continuing inter-college effort to create a common ground from which to explore the relations between science, technology, and society. The STS Program serves as a focal point for a wide range of courses that study the natures of science and technology, and analyze their social and personal implications. As such, it lends coherence and visibility to other course offerings within the university. In addition to its curricular mission, the STS Program hosts lectures, seminars, and conferences.
Undergraduate students may chose to major or minor in STS Studies, or they may take individual courses within the program, or from participating departments. Opportunities for student research projects are also available. Graduate students may chose STS as a minor field of study; this is usually done within the context of the History Department’s Ph.D. program in the History of Technology.
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Linkoping University, Department of Thematic Studies – Technology and Social Change
http://www.tema.liu.se/tema-t/?l=en&sc=true
Many of today’s important social questions concern technology in some way, questions which can be as varied as: Which political processes lay behind nuclear energy policy or the development of biotechnology? How does information technology influence our interpersonal relations and our ways of communicating? How can we deal with the risks and uncertainties of technological development? How does technology shape our identity, our daily life and our concepts of the world?
At Tema T we strive to go beyond the simple answers to these questions. We critically analyse both technology’s influence on and the different types of understandings that are constructed around technology in and by society. Our research deals with how social actors create and exploit technology, and how technical change is woven together with cultural patterns, daily life, politics and the economy.
Tema T is home to researchers with backgrounds in the humanities, social sciences, and technology. Besides research and graduate education, Tema T also offers an international master’s program and several undergraduate courses -
London School of Economics – Centre for the Study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology, and Society (BIOS)
BIOS is a multidisciplinary centre at LSE for research into contemporary developments in the life sciences, biomedicine and biotechnology. It is a joint initiative between the Department of Sociology and the Institute of Social Psychology, with the support of the Departments of Government and Law and the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Sciences.
BIOS supports post-doctoral researchers, visiting fellows and professors, and post graduate students. It has an infrastructure which encourages and hosts research supported by funding bodies such as the ESRC, the Wellcome Trust, the MRC and other major funding bodies. Much of our work explores the implications of biomedicine for personhood and identity, kinship and family life, political economy, the organisation and funding of health care, and government regulation.
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Lund University, Research Policy Institute (RPI)
RPI is a multidisciplinary department within Lund University School of Economics and Management, Sweden.
RPI’s current activities reflect its longstanding orientation towards studies of science and technology in society.
Current research activities can be grouped into three broad categories:
- Research policy and the dynamics of scientific fields
- Knowledge and innovation for development
- Studies of risks and risk management (including social intelligence)
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Maastricht University, Technology & Society Studies
The Department of Technology & Society Studies provides the social-scientific input for the teaching and research conducted by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Science, Technology and Society
The Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology attempts to increase understanding of the human-built world. In this world, science and technology have broken through the walls of industry and of the laboratory to become an inextricable and determining element of nature, culture, and history.
The STS Program was founded at MIT in 1976 to address this unprecedented and momentous integration of science, technology, and society. Faculty and students in the Program address two basic, interrelated questions: how did science and technology evolve as human activities, and what role do they play in the larger civilization? The STS perspective is crucial to understanding major events of our time (war and conflict, the economy, health, the environment) and to addressing these and other major public issues (privacy, democracy, education).
The STS Program is part of MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS). In 1980 STS began to offer undergraduate subjects, which typically attract students with broad interests who seek an interdisciplinary approach to their education. Undergraduates can concentrate or minor in STS. While STS does not offer an independent major, students can join an STS program to any science or engineering major to form a joint major, leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in Humanities and Science or Humanities and Engineering. They can also double major in STS and a science or engineering discipline, receiving two B.S. degrees.
In 1988 STS joined MIT’s Anthropology Program and History Faculty to offer a doctoral degree program in the History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society (HASTS). Since then HASTS has developed into one of the world’s preeminent graduate programs in STS-related studies. It attracts students from around the world who seek an interdisciplinary program that will prepare them for careers in the academy, law, business, journalism, and museum work, among other possibilities.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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Max Plank Institute for the History of Science
http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/en/institute/index.html
The MPIWG in Berlin is one of eighty research institutes in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities administered by the Max Planck Society. It was established in 1994 as an international research center for the history of science in Germany.
Researchers at the MPIWG investigate how new categories of thought, proof, and experience have emerged in the centuries-long interaction between the sciences and their ambient cultures. The specific research projects span several millennia: cultures north, south, east, and west: and numerous scientific disciplines, ranging from the origins of counting systems in Mesopotamia to today’s postgenomics, from Renaissance natural history to the early days of quantum mechanics. Exemplary research questions include: How did the fundamental scientific concepts (e.g., number, force, heredity, probability) and practices (e.g., experiment, proof, classification) develop in specific historical contexts? And in what ways did local knowledge, originally devised to solve specific problems, become universalized? These questions form the basis of a theoretically oriented history of science which studies scientific thinking and knowledge acquisition in their historical development.
Researchers at the MPIWG come from every continent and a wide spectrum of scientific and scholarly backgrounds. The MPIWG is involved in collaborations with scientists, historians of art and architecture, jurists, archaeologists, and museum curators.
The MPIWG supports the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, and uses its website to present its research results and current research projects to the general public. The MPIWG aims to pioneer new forms of publication and to tap into and make accessible new source materials. Resources and electronic research tools also can be found on this website. In its preprint series, the MPIWG provides a forum for preliminary research results in the history of science, also available through this website. Its biennial report informs a wider audience about the institute’s work.
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McGill University
Welcome to the Department of Social Studies of Medicine! We are an interdisciplinary teaching and research unit in the Faculty of Medicine. The Department offers courses and programs at undergraduate and graduate levels (MA and PhD). The Department also welcomes inquiries from prospective postdoctoral fellows with sources of external funding. Please see Department message for more information.
The Department of Social Studies of Medicine is also the location of the Nathanson Centre for the History and Culture of Medicine. The Nathanson Centre organizes seminars and workshops, and provides an affiliation for visiting scholars.
The Department is also the location of the seminars in History and Philosophy of Science.
**Students applying to begin a Ph.D. in the history of medicine in 2011-2012 at McGill University are eligible for a newly created fellowship: the CRC doctoral fellowship in the history of modern medicine. This award, which may be renewed twice contingent upon student performance and funding, is reserved for an exceptionally meritorious applicant. The annual stipend is $35,000 per year. Students applying for the Ph.D. track in the history of modern medicine will automatically be eligible for this fellowship**.
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Morrisville State College, State University of New York (SUNY), Science, Technology & Society Program
http://www.morrisville.edu/programsofstudy/schoolofliberalarts/sts/
The Science, Technology and Society bachelor degree program addresses the overlap between the liberal arts and technical fields, which is becoming more obvious as technology is more deeply integrated into social life and culture every day. This program offers a science degree that reflects not only the importance of substantive technical and scientific knowledge, but also seeks to understand it in the larger perspective of our society.
Two concentrations are offered: environmental conservation and information technology. Each track will provide the student a base of technical knowledge within their concentration and connect it to historical, sociological, and philosophical perspectives on science and technology. -
Munich Center for Technology in Society
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National Tsing-Hua University, ‘Health and Society’ Joint Programme at the Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University
At the graduate level, STS emerged initially out of governmental and industrial initiatives to increase the effectiveness of investment in new scientific and technological knowledge. While this continues to be the focus of some programmes, in many programmes it has been overtaken by growing public concerns about suspected misuses of science and technology, calling for greater public control over scientific and technological systems and examining their implications for the quality of life. At the undergraduate level, STS has been exploding as a field of study as it becomes increasingly clear that a critical understanding of the nature, social context, history, and cultural implications of science and technology is important for effective citizenship and involvement in contemporary life. As an academic programme, STS offers students an opportunity to learn skills and approaches for understanding the political and cultural implications of new technologies, as well as the role of science and expertise in the making of public policy. STS prepares students to be more active and effective participants in public debates about science and technology. The field also prepares students for the many expanding career opportunities in managing science and technology in a democratic society.
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National University of Singapore, Science, Technology, and Society
http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/sts/
S.T.S. stands for ‘Science, Technology, and Society’, an established interdisciplinary field first organized in North America in the early 1970s. Recognizing the need for social scientists and humanities scholars to study the immense influence of science & technology on modern social, political, and cultural life, STS normally serves as a meeting ground on which C.P. Snow’s ‘two cultures’ (the sciences on the one hand, and the arts and social sciences on the other) can come to critical terms with each others’ methods, histories, objects, and interests. The faculty of the STS Research Cluster at NUS consists of historians, sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, philosophers, critical theorists, media studies scholars, public policy scholars and others who share curiosity about how science and technology function in the social world.
Related to the STS Research Cluster is an Undergraduate STS Minor, which is open to students from any faculty in the university. NUS does not yet have an STS graduate program, but graduate students with this interest are accepted and supervised across a number of departments, and are free to participate in the activities of the cluster. The STS Research Cluster also sponsors post-doctoral and other visiting positions for scholars who share our research interests. Our cluster members also work wih two University level research institutes: ARI (Asia Research Institute) and IDMI (Interactive and Digital Media Institute).
Because Singapore is a center for cutting-edge scientific and technological R&D, we are particularly (though not exclusively) interested in social science and humanities research which contextualizes this phenomenon, not only in Singapore but in Asia generally. As the only English-language center of STS-related research in East and Southeast Asia, we provide a unique site for collaboration with overseas scholars who are curious about the sci/tech-society relationship.
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Netherlands Graduate School of Science, Technology, and Modern Culture (WTMC)
The Netherlands Graduate Research School of Science, Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC) is a collective effort of Dutch scholars studying the development of science, technology and modern culture. The history, sociology and philosophy of science and technology—Science and Technology Studies (STS)—form the core of its work, but there are also strong inputs from cultural studies and innovation studies.
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New Jersey Institute of Technology, Science, Technology, and Society
http://humanities.njit.edu/academics/undergraduate/sts/
Students enroll in the Bachelor of Science in Science, Technology and Society (STS) program because they are interested in discovering how and why the work and communication strategies of scientists, technologists and other professionals affect the social systems in which we all partake.
STS majors begin their studies by exploring the theoretical and historical foundations of science and technology as they concern politics, economics and culture. During the second and third years, core courses present case studies and practical assignments that build on the fundamentals learned in the first year. Students also select an area of specialization, or create one of their own, and identify a topic for their senior projects. STS majors are continuously developing their abilities to analyze complex information, solve critical problems, and demonstrate their ethical awareness and sense of public responsibility.
STS alumni attend medical, law or business graduate programs. Others go into businesses as diverse as environmental remediation to marketing and management. Still others engage in governmental, public policy, NGO administration or academia.
Albert Dorman Honors College (ADHC) students may participate in accelerated and other pre-professional programs allied with Seton Hall University’s law school or UMDNJ’s Medicine, Physical Therapy (DPT) or Physician’s Assistant programs. STS students are encouraged to participate in NJIT’s Cooperative Education program and the B.S./M.S. program, and internships in a corporate, not-for-profit or government setting.
STS encourages students in CSLA and other majors to consider a double major or minor in STS. During their senior year, double majors compose a senior thesis that places work done for their primary majors in an STS context.
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North Carolina State University, Science, Technology and Society
http://ids.chass.ncsu.edu/sts/
Science, Technology, and Society (STS) is an interdisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand the many ways that science and technology shape culture, values, and institutions, and how such factors shape science and technology. We all depend heavily upon science and technology, and STS examines how science and technology emerge, how they enter society, how they change through social processes, and how society changes, as well. The STS Program sponsors several interrelated activities:
The B.A. and B.S. majors in STS, including 30 credit hours of course work in the major: STS 214 – Introduction to STS; STS 403 – Seminar in STS; a four-course breadth requirement consisting of courses chosen from: I-History, II-Philosophy of Science and Ethics, III-Assessment and Policy, and IV-Other STS Courses; and a four-course STS Specialty that addresses a coherent theme related to science, technology, and society.
The Minor in STS, consisting of 15 hours of course work including STS 214 – Introduction to STS.
A graduate minor in STS (under development).
The annual Rolf Buchdahl Lecture on Science, Technology, and Values
The objectives of the STS Program are to:
Help its students learn some of the alternative ways of thinking and conducting research that characterize the interdisciplinary Science, Technology & Society field, and to relate these to larger human concerns
Enable its students to explore complex STS topics by seeing them from multiple perspectives and in relation of other topics, and to integrate STS information and concepts from a variety of sources
Provide its students with the skills and resources to learn key STS concepts, literature, practices, and issues in order to encourage lifelong learning
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Northwestern University – Science in Human Culture
SHC is Northwestern University’s program in “science studies,” an interdisciplinary field that invites students and faculty to consider how science, medicine, and technology have become defining features of modern culture. SHC brings the perspectives of the humanities and social sciences to bear on developments in science, technology, and medicine.
SHC offers undergraduates an adjunct major and minor field, graduate students, including applicants to its cluster initiative as well as current students who wish to affiliate with the program, and two concurrent two-year postdoctoral fellowships in the contextual study of science, technology, or medicine.
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Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture
The Department of interdisciplinary studies of culture was established January 1st 1999, when Center for Women’s Research and Center for Technology and Society were merged. Presently, the department has a staff of about forty employees, of which the majority is research fellows, post-doctoral research fellows or members of the scientific staff. The department’s research focuses on gender and feminist studies, and science and technological studies, using a variety of interdisciplinary methods and theories. The department also offers a master’ degree and a PhD programme in Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture.Center for Women’s Research and Center for Technology and Society was established in the 1980s as research centers. When the two centers were merged, they became the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture and organized under the Faculty of Arts.
The staff consists of researchers that have their background from the Humanities and social science. The department has several research groups within gender studies, ICT, energy consumption and health issues to name a few. All these topics are approached with interdisciplinary theories and methods originating from both the Humanities and social sciences.
A large part of this research is funded by The Research Council of Norway, or other external funding. The department has a broad international network in research communities across the world.
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Oxford University – James Martin Institute
The James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization will identify science and technology issues critical in shaping the future of world civilization. It will conduct research to help humanity to shape a brighter future for itself and the natural environment on which it depends.
It will influence the course of technological and social change through the engagement of highest quality scholarship with key decision makers in business, government, and civil society. Its fellowship programme will bring together leading scholars and practitioners around the world. Its symposium will become a world forum on science and civilization.
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Penn State – Science, Technology, and Society Program
In 1969-70, leading faculty from the colleges of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Engineering, Liberal Arts, and Science founded the interdisciplinary program in Science, Technology, and Society. Its integrative courses addressing critical issues in these areas served as a model for similar programs at many other universities.The STS Program provides an interdisciplinary approach to the social, historical, ethical, philosophical, legal, and policy implications of scientific research, engineering, health, and medicine.
Due to their engagement with multiple sides of current scientific and technical issues, STS scholars are uniquely positioned to take a leading role in shaping society. For the University, STS provides a means of bridging academic disciplines and forging new initiatives across disciplinary boundaries. For our students, STS provides an opportunity to bridge disciplinary interests, expand research possibilities, and learn the analytical skills needed to be competitive in an increasingly globalizing market for the sciences and technology.
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Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Technology, Culture and Society
http://www.poly.edu/academics/departments/TCS
The Department of Technology, Culture and Society supports research and educational programs that investigate how technology and science shape – and are shaped by – broader social and cultural issues. Our faculty use humanities and social science perspectives and methods to examine critical questions about the role of technology and science in ethics, art, city building, and other domains.
We offer interdisciplinary degree programs in Integrated Digital Media (IDM), Science and Technology Studies (STS), and Sustainable Urban Environments (SUE). These programs give students the knowledge to understand and engage with the technological and scientific society and culture in which they live and the skills that will lead to successful and rewarding careers.
The Department of Technology, Culture and Society offers elective courses in the humanities and social sciences to meet the General Education requirement for Poly undergraduate students. The cluster curriculum helps today’s engineers and scientists make thoughtful decisions about the values that are implicit in technological options, to understand how human beings see themselves and the natural and social worlds, to think critically, and to communicate effectively.
The Department of Technology, Culture and Society is home to NYU-Poly’s Brooklyn Experimental Media Center (BxMC). It also sponsors the Technology and Society lecture series. This fall, Chris Hables Gray and Ahmed Salah spoke to students regarding democracy and technology in the context of Wikileaks and the Egyptian revolution.
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Science and Technology Studies
The field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) asks fundamental questions about the role of science and technology in social and environmental change. It integrates insights from the humanities and social sciences into a coherent body of knowledge that provides a basis for action.
Founded in 1982, the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer is one of the oldest and most highly recognized programs of its sort. Our internationally recognized faculty members have backgrounds in anthropology, history, philosophy, political science, social psychology, and sociology. They bring to their courses a unique interdisciplinary perspective on science, technology, and society.
This department is one of the few in the world that offers STS degrees from baccalaureate to doctoral levels. Degree programs offered through the STS Department emphasize the cultural, historical, economic, political, and social dimensions of scientific and technological society, with a focus on ethical and values issues. Students in these degree programs can expect broad, rigorous training, with commensurate intellectual rewards.
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Rice University, Department of Anthropology
The Rice University Department of Anthropology is, properly speaking, not an STS Program, but many of its members specialize in the study of systems of knowledge, rationality, authority and expertise in the contemporary world.
Anthropology stands at the crossroads of the humanities and social sciences. It is the comparative science of human thought, experience and behavior in all its social forms. Blending core commitments to deep empirical analysis, to field and archival research techniques and to advancing social theory, anthropology is one of the most vibrant and diverse fields of research in the human sciences today. It is also one of the most flexible and well-rounded undergraduate majors in the liberal arts, preparing students for careers in fields like journalism, community organizing, humanitarian aid, and historic preservation. In an increasingly global era, anthropological thinking has become part of the equipment of modern life.
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Rochester Institute of Technology, Science and Technology Studies; Science, Technology and Society
http://www.rit.edu/cla/publicpolicy/aboutsts.php
Science, Technology, and Society–”STS”–is the interdisciplinary field that studies science and technology in their social content and context. It is motivated by the belief that understanding science and technology, past and present, is both socially important and intellectually challenging. The STS field thus offers unique opportunities for bridging the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering.
STS courses offer students opportunities to combine science and technology studies with environmental studies, to place science and technology into historical perspective, and to focus on the challenges of new science and technology policy. STS students address questions of crucial importance to modern civilization, such as the following:
What are science and technology, and how do they interact with each other?
How do science and technology function in society, in the lives of individuals, and in various cultural or environmental contexts?
What ethical, value-laden issues do science and technology raise?
What sociocultural, humanistic, and environmental issues characterize the practice of science and technology?
How do societies and individuals express themselves through science and technology?
What impacts do science and technology have on societies, on individuals, and on various environments?
How do science and technology change over time?
What changes do science and technology bring to the societies of which they are a part?
How are science and technology changed by their societies?
Because modern society depends so heavily on the techno-scientific enterprise, STS graduates are well-positioned to enter a variety of professional fields.
Because modern society depends so heavily on the techno-scientific enterprise, STS graduates are well-positioned to enter a variety of professional fields.
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Royal Institute of Technology, History of Technology and Science
The Division of History of Science and Technology conducts research and teaching about technology and technological change in a historical perspective.
An important point of departure is that technology and science are cultural elements that shape and change the living conditions on earth. Of equal importance is the starting point that historical studies are of crucial importance for understanding contemporary as well as future processes of technological and societal change.
In other words, historical analysis of technology and science contributes to a better understanding of technological and societal change. It is our belief that this type of insight is valuable, both for aspiring engineers and for students in other fields.
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Santa Clara University, Center for Science, Technology and Society
http://www.scu.edu/socialbenefit/index.cfm
The mission of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS) is to promote the use of science and technology to benefit underserved communities worldwide, primarily by working with socially-minded entrepreneurs. The CSTS implements its mission through its signature program, the Global Social Benefit Incubator, the Frugal Innovation Lab, and its numerous educational and public engagement activities.
Our vertical program themes of entrepreneurship, innovation, and impact capital have inspired programs like the Global Social Benefit Incubator and Frugal Innovation Labs. These are the key ideas upon which new programs are developed. Education is a feature of all of our programs whether it’s with students, social entrepreneur, impact investors, or the general public. Being part of Santa Clara University means that we share the University’s mission to education leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion. CSTS also chooses sectors to focus on across all of our programming. Since 2009 we have been focused on clean energy technologies for the underserved and will soon expand into a health focus. These thematic “sector strategies” allow us to narrow in on a certain industry to maximize our understanding of which technologies and business models can create the greatest impact in the industry.
It is through this combination of vertical and horizontal themes that we are able to gather experience on a number of different fronts, from field operations and engineering to fundraising and marketing, while still being able to synthesize this information and pass it on to entrepreneurs and students working to impact the lives of millions today.
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St Thomas University, Science and Technology Studies
http://w3.stu.ca/stu/sites/sts/index.html
Courses in Science and Technology Studies (STS) at St. Thomas University examine the ways in which technical, scientific and social phenomena interact and influence each other, and they do so from the perspective of the humanities and social sciences, using a critical and interdisciplinary approach, by drawing on the disciplines of history, philosophy, ethics, political science and sociology. Courses in STS examine such topics as the relationship between religion and science, the ironic and unintended consequences of technology, the environmental impact of industry, the use of animals in scientific experiments, the impact of disease epidemics and natural disasters on society, the implications of exploring space, the chemistry of everyday life, and how science and technology have changed our perceptions of nature.
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Stevens Institute of Technology, Science and Technology Studies
The College of Arts & Letters (CAL) encourages and inspires students to study and conduct research at the intersection of science, technology, the arts and humanities in ways that enable them to have a significant impact on society and the world. Our programs equip students to become proficient in both the history, as well as the use of science and technology in a distinctively “hands-on” fashion. In doing so, CAL fully embodies Stevens’ mission to educate students to lead in scientific discovery and in the creation, application and management of technology in order to solve complex problems and to build new enterprises.
CAL is composed of two divisions: The Division of Humanities & Social Sciences and the Division of Technology & the Arts, offering Bachelor of Arts degrees in History, Philosophy, Literature, the Social Sciences, Art & Technology, and Music & Technology. All these programs provide for students both a solid foundation in the traditional disciplines, as well as a breadth of exposure to cutting-edge applications of the liberal arts.
Students who have earned B.A. degrees from CAL have achieved success not only in the fields of science and technology, but in careers ranging from law, medicine, media, corporate relations, communications, the arts and beyond.
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Stockholm University, Stockholm Centre for Organizational Research (SCORE)
http://www.score.su.se/english/
SCORE is a multi-disciplinary research centre with the aim of initiating, pursuing, and disseminating research on organizational aspects of modern society.
The centre is run jointly by the Stockholm School of Economics and Stockholm University.
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STS-CH (Swiss Association for the Studies of Science, Technology and Society)
STS-CH is an association for the studies of science, technology and society (STS) based in Switzerland. Its goal is to promote STS in Switzerland by organizing conferences, facilitating contacts and encouraging the circulation of information. It maintains a mailing list.
Swiss Association for the Study of Science, Technology and Society, Zurich, Switzerland
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Technical University Delft, Department of Technology, Policy, and Management
The Faculty of Technology, Policy & Management, has defined risk as one of the main focuses of its research and advisory work. It has a research program called Risk and the Design, Development and Management of Technology, involving five of the sections in the faculty. A second program called Reflection on Technology is developing a joint project with this program, to compare risk regulation across countries and industries. Other Faculty research programs concerned with the Design and Management of Infrastructures and with Multi-Actor Systems also contain elements of research important for risk, such as safety in design of infrastructure and dealing with uncertainty and risk in
decision-making. The Risk Centre draws on this expertise and makes it available for others.The faculty research on risk aims to carry out studies in different technologies, industries and types of system, in order to learn the extent to which principles, methods and approaches can be generalised across system boundaries. What are technology or industry specific approaches and what can be learned or adapted from one system and applied in another? The areas of risk in which the faculty has worked, or is working now, include:
- home and leisure
- hospitals & health care
- high hazard industry (chemical, process, steel)
- disaster management
- construction
- manufacturing
- transport – rail, air, sea and inland waterways, road
The main programs on risk have the following themes:
- Risk Medelling for design and management
- Incorporation of risk criteria into the design process
- The learning organization as manger of risk
- Risk regulation
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The Technical University of Berlin, Institute of Sociology
At the Institute of Sociology is the 04/01/2012 a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) funded Graduate College with the title “innovation society today: the reflexive production of new ones” (Innovation Group) set up speakers of the College, Professor Dr. Werner Rammert The college pursued.. The goal of the economic concept of innovation to expand social science issues and to examine social innovation. be researched practices and processes of innovation in science and technology, industry and services, art and culture, and political control, and spatial-social planning.
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The University of Edinburgh, Science Studies
Internationally renowned as the home of the Edinburgh School, with its characteristic “strong programme” in the sociology of scientific knowledge, the Science Studies Unit has long been recognized as a centre of excellence for the study of the sociology, history, and philosophy of science, medicine and technology.
Dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to understanding theory and practice of science, technology and medicine, the Unit is part of a wider network of groups at Edinburgh University concerned with the social character and the social and economic implications of science and technology, under the umbrella of the University of Edinburgh Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation. The staff of the Unit collaborates closely with colleagues in Sociology, the Research Centre for Social Sciences, and INNOGEN: the ESRC Centre for Social and Economic Research on Innovation in Genomics. Through the individual interests of its four members of academic staff, the Unit also has active links to a number of other subject areas, both here in Edinburgh and in the wider academic community, including history, philosophy, law, medicine, physics, divinity, geography and business studies.
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The University of Edinburgh, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies
http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/prospective/science_studies2
The University of Edinburgh has an international reputation in all aspects of the study of science, technology and innovation in society. Founded in 1964 as the Science Studies Unit, it is here that pioneering work was done in the sociology of scientific knowledge. Likewise, Edinburgh has been the home for ground-breaking studies of the shaping of technology by cultural, economic, political and organisational factors. We continue this tradition of excellence today. Edinburgh scholars are working on the social and historical aspects of a range of issues including, bioscience, genomics, history of science and medicine, psychiatry, emerging technologies and innovation, information and communication technologies, science and technology policy, international development and artificial biology.
There is no undergraduate degree programme in science, technology and innovation. Rather, we offer very popular one-semester options that focus on various aspects of the historical and social dimensions of science and technology. These courses are open to all students and are an excellent addition to almost any degree programme found across the University. Students visiting from overseas are very welcome to join our courses. For more information see the course list below, discuss these options with your DOS or contact the course secretary. The Undergraduate Teaching Office in the School of Social and Political Science can offer further information and assistance.
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Twente University, Department of Science, Technology, and Health Policy Studies (STəPS)
http://www.utwente.nl/mb/steps/
The Department of Science, Technology, and Policy Studies (STePS) takes the assessment and governance of innovations and emerging technologies as its central theme of teaching and research. STePS considers in particular strategic issues that are multidisciplinary: they involve developments in science, technology, politics and society, as well as interaction between them. Studies conducted within STəPS link analytical and normative perspectives, and consider not only technological innovations but also innovations in governance.
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Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Science and Technology Policy
The big emphasis to activities DPCT is dedicated to research in the field of scientific and technological development and innovation, feeding the teaching of graduate (masters and doctorate) and graduate with their results. The evolution of science and technology is a social process and, as such, conditioned by factors of political, economic and cultural. On the basis of multidisciplinary treatment, DPCT is dedicated to the analysis of the developing process and the design of strategy and development-oriented mechanisms in science and technology.
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Universidade Federal do Sergipe, Society, Science, and Technique
Science and technique are the central bodies for innovation in modern societies. Its performance and critical reflection are a growing significance for the socio-economic and cultural development. In this context, the sociological research on science and technical search to understand the genesis of scientific-technical and tries to follow the lead and involvement in different social formations. It examines, last but not least, the trajectories of technological innovations in order to inform, together with neighboring disciplines, the political actors about their possible social, economic and environmental consequences.
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Universita Degli Studi Di Trento, Science Technology and Society (STSTN)
http://www.soc.unitn.it/sus/ststn.htm
Science Technology and Society – STSTN University is an interdisciplinary project which aims to develop a feel for the themes of the relationship between science and society researchers – with particular reference to new generations – and offer a platform for discussion on these issues at the university, with citizens and territory.
The project is supported by a contribution of Fondazione Cassa di Trento and Rovereto.
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University College London (UCL), Department of Science and Technology Studies
The Department of Science and Technology Studies, UCL is an interdisciplinary centre for the integrated study of science’s history, philosophy, sociology, communication and policy, located in the heart of London. Founded in 1921. Award winning for teaching and research, plus for our public engagement programme. Rated as outstanding by students at every level.
At UCL, the academic mission is paramount. Our ambition is to achieve the highest standards in our teaching and research.
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University of California at Berkeley, Science, Technology, and Society Center
http://stsc.berkeley.edu/content/about-stsc
The Science, Technology, and Society Center brings together a diverse community of scholars studying the origins, growth, and consequences of scientific and technological knowledge and practice. Taking a broad construal of our domain, including medicine, environment, new media, and related areas, we draw affiliates from the social sciences, the humanistic disciplines, and professional and public policy fields.
At Berkeley, outstanding faculty and students in this trans-disciplinary arena are spread across a score of departments. STSC facilitates linkages of discussion, training, and collaboration. Further, the Center seeks to build cooperative networks with other University of California campuses and to give support to broader collaborations.
The Center’s aims are:
To encourage scholarship that considers the local, national, and transnational dynamics of science and technology.
To stimulate public discussion with broadly framed lectures and workshops, and to disseminate news of relevant events.
To foster cross-disciplinary interactions, acting as a clearinghouse for existing centers, departments, and programs.
To provide a platform for working groups and research collaborations that fit in no single department, offering assistance in pursuit of extramural funding.
To help meet the need for broadly trained individuals in this field, supporting the development of curricular materials and coordinating information about courses and instructors.
To develop and support expertise in critical areas of science and technology policy.
To carry out outreach through our website and through public programs.
To foster connections among STS programs in the University of California system, across the country, and in other parts of the world.
University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
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University of California, San Diego, Science Studies Program
http://sciencestudies.ucsd.edu/
The Science Studies Program at UCSD was established in 1989. At present, the Program involves twenty-one core faculty members and forty-seven graduate students from the Program’s “home” departments of communication, history, philosophy, and sociology. Students and faculty in the Program are committed to working toward deeper understanding of scientific knowledge in its full cultural and historical context. The Program offers students an opportunity to integrate the perspectives developed within the communication of science, history of science, sociology of science, and philosophy of science, while receiving a thorough training at the professional level in one of those disciplines.
University of California - San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
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University of East London, Innovation Studies, Humanities and Social Sciences
This programme explores the complex and dynamic relations between the social and technological forces that shape the innovation process in an international context. It is closely linked to active research at UEL and beyond. In particular, there is an emphasis on inequalities due to gender, socio-economic status and/or race, social distribution of responsibility, wealth, and ethical considerations related to the governance of innovation in both business and the public sphere.
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University of Groningen, Theory and History of Psychology
http://www.rug.nl/psy/onderzoek/onderzoeksprogrammas/theory_and_history_of_psychology/index?lang=en
We study the relations between Psychology (and related disciplines), the subjects they study, and the society and culture that they are part of. We draw our inspiration from History and Philosophy of Science and from Science and Technology Studies.
Our research is concerned with topics such as:
- Psychiatric disease concepts and the increasing prominence of biochemical views of mental illness
- The rules and practices of psychiatric drug testing
- Autobiographical memory
- History of neurology
- Evolutionary psychology’s claim to integrate the biological and social sciences
- Social technology
- The use of brain machines and its philosophical implications
- Autism, identity and politics
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University of Lucerne, Department of Cultural and Science Studies
http://www.unilu.ch/eng/kuwifo_826342.html
Cultural Studies encompasses all areas of human life: social structures, institutions, human relations, politics, economics, art, literature, theatre, science, and technology. The variety of cultures and their historical development are equally as interesting as the role of power and the emergence of social, aesthetic, and epistemic orders, but it is essential to study these aspects without creating a hierarchy of different cultures, such as by establishing precedence for high culture over low. In fact, such demarcations are subject to investigation in their own right, accompanied by a critical reflection on our own culture that aims to facilitate a deeper understanding of the bases of our thoughts and actions. With a concept of culture that is geared towards meaning, knowledge and symbols, Cultural Studies places its focus on those processes through which communities form an understanding of the world that shapes social structures, research, self-image, and the conduct of individuals and groups.
Science and the humanities have played a key role in the development of modern cultures and the current global situation. This is not only because of the influence of technical innovations and scientific interpretations of the world, but also because of the continuing application of science to all areas of life and the exchanges between science and other forms of knowledge that ensue. This entanglement of science, economics, politics, and everyday life in knowledge-based societies is at the center of the research carried out at the Department of Cultural and Science Studies. The projects focus on the history, theory, and practice of knowledge cultures, on how scientific knowledge is produced and how it circulates beyond groups of experts. What scientific content, technologies, and moral concepts find their way into private, public, popular and artistic spheres? To which media, objects, images, and texts are these processes bound? And what are the cultural requirements for scientific work? Concomitantly, we ask which kinds of knowledge are not disseminated, and why this is the case. What myths and cultural norms are conveyed in this fashion, and what power structures are put in place? Which knowledge is accepted and applied, and which is resisted or ignored?
The courses offered by the Department of Cultural and Science Studies deal with these kinds of horizontal questions in close connection with social change, political reality, and every day events. The complexity of the phenomenon of “culture” requires a combination of scholarly perspectives, however. The Integrated Degree Program in Cultural Studies (ISK) is the only course in Switzerland that offers an interdisciplinary program focusing on the shared cultural approach of the disciplines involved: history, ethnology, sociology, philosophy, political science, science studies, Jewish studies, and religious studies. Students learn to understand their subject from a cultural perspective. A strong focus is also placed on the methods, theories, and history of transdisciplinary cultural studies, and on its innovative fields, including the history of knowledge, post-colonial studies, and media analysis.
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University of Malaya, Department of Science and Technology Studies
We attempt to combine the history and philosophy of science, sociology of S&T, the economics of S&T, S&T policy studies, development of S&T, entrepreneurs in S&T and sustainability in S&T in order to forge a multi-disciplinary perspective on S&T studies, which is holistic but equally pragmatic. Here, we are focusing on the 4Es approach: Environment, Epistemology, Ethics, and Entrepreneurship.
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University of Maryland, Institute for Physical Science and Technology
The mission of the Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST) is to pursue interdisciplinary research and education at the University of Maryland. The Institute provides support for theoretical and experimental research in areas at the intersection of traditional disciplines. Current research programs are in the areas of Applied Mathematics, Biophysics, Chaotic Dynamics, Chemical Physics, Optical Physics, Space Physics, Scientific Computation, and Statistical Physics. Several of the Distinguished University Professors on campus hold appointments in IPST and several of the faculty are members of the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering. Examples of the current research by Institute faculty are:
Study of the properties of fluids which are far from equilibrium.
Study of the properties of superfluids, fluids in glasslike states, and fluids near critical points.
Observation of magnetospheric electron precipitation using advanced riometers at the South Pole.
Massively parallel computation and visualization of classical fluids and fully ionized plasmas.
Investigation of non-linear mathematical systems exhibiting irregular chaotic behavior.
Application of new high-power laser technologies to the interactions of radiation and matter.
Experimental, theoretical, and computational investigation of interplanetary and interstellar plasmas.
Development and application of the tools of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics to the control of nano-structures on surfaces.
Mesoscopic equilibrium and mesoscopic nonequilibrium thermodynamics and its applications.
Experimental and theoretical research of frontier areas in biophysics.
There are thirty-nine faculty members in IPST, most of whom hold joint appointments with academic units in the College of Computer, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences, and Engineering. The Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation, Biophysics, and Chemical Physics Graduate Degree Programs supported by the Institute offer M.S. and Ph.D. degrees and faculty supervision for graduate students in these and other programs.
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University of Massachusetts Amherst, Science, Technology and Society
The Science, Technology, and Society Initiative (STS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst was established to promote multidisciplinary collaboration among the natural, physical and social sciences, engineering and public policy. Located within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (CSBS) and administratively based in the Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA), the STS Initiative serves as a catalyst for innovative research as well as an interdisciplinary forum to discuss issues in science and technology. The STS Initiative provides a single point of contact for campus-wide faculty collaborations, enabling effective teaming on new proposals and initiatives. Our website describes the STS Initiative, our affiliated researchers, and our sponsored research projects. It is also meant to point students, faculty and others to the rich resources on campus related to science, technology and society.
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University of Massachusetts Boston, Science in a Changing World
http://www.cct.umb.edu/sicw/index.html
Masters, Professional Science Masters [*], and Graduate Certificate serving students who want to focus on science in the context of social change or individual intellectual development.
Course material, classroom activities, teaching/learning interactions, and projects focused on real-world problems provide students opportunities to:learn about science and its social context
gain a set of models for work in education, policy, and other areas of civic engagement
discuss practices and philosophies of science, education, and social change; and
undertake research with a view to engaging with science in a changing social and personal world.
Students with diverse backgrounds and career paths–from laboratories to field research, journalism to policy formulation, teaching to activism–are welcome to join the track. In addition to examining Science and its Social Context, students develop valuable professional skills in Research, Writing, and Evaluation for Civic Engagement and in Collaborative Processes and Problem-Based Teaching around current controversies involving science and technology.
Science in a Changing World students graduate well prepared to move across the persistent divide between sciences and humanities. They are able to participate in questioning and shaping the direction of scientific and social changes, as well as to teach and engage others to participate in this important endeavor. -
University of Melbourne, Australian Centre for Science, Innovation and Society (ACSIS)
ACSIS carries out research and actively engages in the process of innovation to deliver commercial, environmental and social value.
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University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy – Science, Technology, and Public Policy
Launched in Fall 2006, STPP is a university-wide education and research program comprised of three separate components: In the Graduate Certificate Program, graduate students from across the University analyze the role of science and technology in the policymaking process, gain experience writing for policymakers, and explore the political and policy landscape of areas such as biotechnology, information technology, energy, and others.
In the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, fellows conduct research, teach STPP courses, and provide guidance to the program’s academically diverse students. The Lecture Series brings scholars and practitioners from a range of backgrounds to campus to discuss major issues in science and technology policy, providing a forum for the STPP community to network with people from departments across campus and beyond.
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University of Michigan-Dearborn, Science and Technology Studies
http://www.casl.umd.umich.edu/sts/
The STS Program at UM-Dearborn was launched in 2002 by a group of interdisciplinary faculty from the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters and the College of Engineering and Computer Science. It is the first in the nation to provide a special focus on a particular technology and particular industry—the automobile—with national and global impact. The STS Program is thus designed to bring together students and faculty who want to understand the societal dimensions of science and technology, whether they are studying science, engineering, the humanities, social or behavioral sciences, or business.
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University of Michigan, Science, Technology, and Society Program
The UM Science, Technology & Society Program promotes education and scholarship on the social, political, and cultural dynamics of scientific knowledge, technological change, and medical research and practice. We feature an emphasis on international and global STS issues.
The Program’s principal activities are:
STS Graduate Certificate Program
STeMS Colloqium Series (Science, Technology, Medicine & Society)
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University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Studies of Science & Technology
http://mcps.umn.edu/grad/program.html
The SST program requires core courses in historiography and philosophy of science, followed by research seminars selected from four main research areas: models, theories and reality; biological and biomedical science; physical science; and science, technology, and society. Topics of the seminars vary from year to year, depending upon faculty and student interest. Some recent seminar topics were: Gender, Biology, and Society: Lessons and Limitations in the Case Study Method; Science and Technology Policy in Post-World War II United States; Gender Matters in the History of Technology; and History and Philosophy of Biology.
Studies of Science and Technology (SST) is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the conceptual foundations, historical development, and social context of science and technology. The SST program at the University of Minnesota has been in operation in the form of a graduate minor since 1992, when the National Science Foundation awarded the University a major grant to support research and teaching in the SST field. The program is built on the University’s well-established, internationally renowned programs in various fields contained in SST.
In the Fall of 2007 the History of Science and Technology (HST) graduate program merged with the History of Medicine (HMed) graduate program to form a new graduate program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (HSTM).
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University of Notre Dame, Science, Technology, and Values
In the modern world, science and technology seem to permeate most aspects of our lives. Comprehension and critical evaluation of science and technology can encourage effective day-to-day functioning and responsible citizenship. We frequently hear of new advancements or discoveries, and of their potential implications for our well-being. And yet, science and technology are often insufficiently understood by those who make decisions about them. Politicians allocate funding, and pass laws that determine the limits of research. Judges rule on questions of what is or is not scientifically valid. Journalists hype and sensationalize some diseases and health threats, ignoring others. Citizens are confronted with choices pertaining to science and technology in the voting booth and at such mundane places as the supermarket.
As we thoughtfully approach the intersection of science and technology with society, complex questions arise. How should we apply the scientific knowledge and technological capabilities we have, individually and collectively? Scientific advances and new technologies yield capabilities that promise enormous benefits but may harbor associated risks and costs that are not fully understood at the time of emergence. Advances that reveal what can be done in some fields (e.g. neurobiology, genetic and reproductive medicine, renewable energy, nanotechnology, and environmental science) outpace answers to ethical and policy questions about what should be done. How can we inform our consciences and pursue implementations of scientific and technological developments that are just and respectful of human dignity?
Answers to these questions are pursued through undergraduate studies in STV at Notre Dame. The Reilly Center’s STV program offers the opportunity to acquire a multifaceted understanding of science and technology, by examining them not only through the lens of the scientist or engineer, but also that of the moral theorist, the historian, and the anthropologist. Thus, STV students acquire the tools they need to solve the complex problems that arise where Science and Society intersect.
Studying STV can prepare students for a wide variety of future careers in fields such as law, the health professions, public service, education, international development, industrial or academic research, or journalism. Undergraduate training in STV can serve as the foundation for graduate studies in fields such as the history and philosophy of science, social studies of science, environmental science, bioethics, risk assessment, and public policy.
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University of Nottingham, Institute for Science and Society (ISS)
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/iss/index.aspx
The Institute for Science and Society (ISS) is a cross-faculty institute within The University of Nottingham. We undertake cutting edge research focusing on how science and technology interacts with people, organizations and society. Our mission is to promote interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research and teaching relating to all aspects of science, technology and society; and to act as an international forum for academic discussion and exchange. We are committed to advancing policy, enhancing research and teaching and stimulating public debate in this area.
No aspect of life in our contemporary world is untouched by science and technology – the food we eat, the way we spend our leisure time, our health care and how we fight wars. Science and Technology Studies is an interdisciplinary field that investigates how science and technology influences our lives and conversely, how we influence it. Some of the themes covered by Science and Technology Studies include:
- How are scientific advances actually made and how are they shaped by expectations and visions of the future?
- What are the tacit assumptions that underlie specific scientific knowledge claims?
- How can we understand the role of scientific and technical evidence in policy debates and how do we relate this to value judgments or the views of different stakeholders and publics?
- What might be the wider implications or unintended consequences of research projects or the implementation of technologies?
- Do funding agendas influence the conduct of scientific research, and if so, how?
- How do science and technology influence our sense of identity?
The Institute is built on a strong legacy of core staff experienced in interdisciplinary work at the cutting edge of the social sciences and humanities, with close connections across the University of Nottingham in fundamental sciences, engineering, health sciences and veterinary sciences.
ISS continues to extend its international networks in Europe, North America, and, increasingly, Asia, through the University’s pioneering campuses in Malaysia and China. It supports a dynamic research environment, combining academic integrity and the highest quality of scholarship with sensitivity to the needs of the wider society as expressed through the commissions of major research funders and policy customers.
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University of Oslo, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture (TIK)
Center for Technology, Innovation and Culture (TIK) has about 25 employees working in research, teaching and instruction in the fields of:
- Innovation
- Science, technology and culture
A significant part of our research is funded by the Norwegian Research Council and the EU’s Framework Programme. We offer training at the master and doctoral level, and has an extensive international collaboration in both education and research.
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University of Oxford, The Institute for Science, Innovation, and Society (inSIS)
The Institute for Science, Innovation and Society (InSIS) researches and informs the key processes of social and technological innovation that are critical to business, governments and civil society in the 21st century and beyond.
The Institute encompasses a multidisciplinary engine room of world-class capabilities (both scholarly and practical) and combines research, practice and education in the following areas:
- Science and technology studies
- Complex systems
- Governance, accountability and innovation
Our teaching on the degree and executive programmes of Saïd Business School educates present and future world leaders to help humanity shape a brighter future for itself and the natural environment on which it depends. Our collaborations and events inform and inspire people to make decisions in the here-and-now that will transform our shared future.
With this combined approach, we aim to learn from the past, immerse ourselves in the present, and look forward to the future to develop the new modes of thinking that are needed to tackle 21st century challenges.
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University of Padua, Department of Sociology, Padova Science, Technology & Innovation Studies (Pa.S.T.I.S)
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/BV.aspx?ref=IE8Activity&a=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pastis-research.eu%2F
PaSTIS research unit was established in 2008 with the aim of coordinating research activities concerning the social study of science, technology, media and innovation of a group of researchers at the Department of sociology at the University of Padua.
Themes and interests common to the scholars who work within the research units are divided into four main areas:
- The social representations of science and technology
- Medicine and Technology
- Media, communications and technology
- Innovation, environment and territory
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University of Pennsylvania, History & Sociology of Science
http://hss.sas.upenn.edu/mt-static/
Welcome to the Department of History and Sociology of Science, with its forty-year history of accomplishment at the University of Pennsylvania. Our faculty uses the tools of the humanities and social sciences to study science, technology, and medicine. Through a broad range of scholarly projects, faculty research examines and elucidates the relations between the technical practice of scientists, engineers, medical researchers, and clinicians, and the material, social, political and cultural context in which those practices occur. Our long-running Monday Workshop provides a forum for the newest work of scholars in our disciplines. Our students also enjoy the talents and research of associated faculty from across the university. Interdisciplinary study, faculty-student interaction, and individual mentoring characterize both the graduate and undergraduate programs. Our graduate program thrives due to current graduate students and also a distinguished group of alumni who are leading scholars and professionals. Recent graduates enjoy success in the job market. The Department’s interdisciplinary commitment is also reflected in the undergraduate program‘s two majors: Science, Technology and Society (STSC) and Health and Societies (HSOC). Both combine a strong departmental core with an concentration focused on the student’s individual interest that draws on courses from across the university. A diverse group of STSC Alumni and HSOC Alumni in a wide array of positions and institutions provide a supportive network for undergraduates. Read about recent accomplishments of faculty, graduate students, staff and alumni.
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University of Puget Sound, Science, Technology & Society
Science and technology are not isolated activities: they are inextricably linked to every other aspect of human experience. Science and technology have important connections to literature, philosophy, religion, art, economics, and to social and political history. Scientific evidence and argument are part of continuing lively debates on issues at every level of generality: social policy, the utilization of natural resources, the allocation of health care, the origin and evolution of life, the place of humankind in the natural order, and the nature of the universe.
Science, Technology, and Society courses explore the connections between the sciences and other parts of the human endeavor. Students in the program develop an understanding of 1) how the broader culture influences the development of science and how science influences different societies and cultures, and 2) the interplay between science and economics, politics, religion, and values in contemporary decision making. Many Science, Technology, and Society courses are cross-disciplinary in nature. Faculty from more than a dozen different disciplines within and without the sciences participate in Science, Technology, and Society.
Majors in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society develop a strong understanding of the practice of science and technology, which provides excellent preparation for careers in medicine, law, public policy, and university research and teaching. Minors, especially those majoring in a science, and students taking individual courses broaden their understanding of this important area of human endeavor.
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University of Sussex, SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research
SPRU is a world-leading department where research and high-level policy advice are combined with postgraduate teaching in science, technology, and innovation policy and management. We welcome students, researchers and policymakers in business, government, and civil society organizations to find out more about us and our activities by using the links on this page.
SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research is the centre of a worldwide network of interdisciplinary researchers addressing the analysis of the rate and direction of scientific change and innovation, the promotion and management of innovation, the regulation of technological risks, the search for effective energy policies and paths to a more sustainable society.
SPRU researchers are prominent participants in global academic and policy debates concerning weapons of mass destruction, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, nuclear power, climate change, information technology, food safety, technology in development and the roles of public and private research organizations.
In SPRU we have created a unique international research culture founded on collegiality and mutual support that spans the divisions between the pursuit of competitiveness and wealth creation, social inclusion, sustainability and development. We maintain close and high-level contacts to the worlds of commercial innovation management, public policy making on science and technology, and civil society.
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University of Sydney, History and Philosophy of Science Department
http://sydney.edu.au/science/hps/
The unit for HPS offers a balanced program of history, philosophy and social studies of science and medicine, extending from our first year undergraduate unit of study to research leading to the PhD degree.
Also, jointly with the Centre for Values, Ethics, and the Law in Medicine, the Unit for History and Philosophy of Science has organized a postgraduate program in Bioethics.
History and Philosophy of Science is a fascinating discipline situated at the cross-roads of science and arts. It examines past and current developments in all areas of science, technology, and medicine from a range of humanistic perspectives, using socio-historical and philosophical techniques to explore their social, political, cultural, and conceptual ramifications. HPS is an ideal way to critically engage with science and its social and cultural significance.
Our staff’s active research records have attracted significant funding from both Australian and international sources. Publishing widely in their fields of expertise and having attained international recognition for their research, they bring the latest scholarship to their teaching and maintain high standards. Our Unit also regularly hosts researchers with international reputations, who contribute to the vibrant intellectual atmosphere.
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University of Texas at Austin, Science, Technology & Society Program
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/sts/
Science, Technology and Society is an interdisciplinary program in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. Our aim is to give students, faculty, and others in the community the opportunity to explore the wide ranges of social impacts of emerging technologies and new scientific discoveries, using the diverse approaches of the liberal arts, social sciences, and humanities. Digital information technologies, new communication technologies and new scientific innovations are rapidly transforming traditional ways of working, learning, and living. Key STS areas include Societal Impacts of Nanotechnology, Gaming, Education, Bio-health, Surveillance, Mobile Technologies, E-society and Computer-mediated communication.
The Science, Technology and Society Program at UT Austin began in the spring of 1999 as the Technology, Literacy and Culture program. The name was changed in 2003 to reflect exciting growth nationwide and internationally in the formal study of the social impacts of technology and scientific innovation. An important part of our program continues to be issues of the digital divide and educational innovation, as well as impacts of culture on the emergence and spread of technological innovation. The Technology, Literacy and Culture Program founders were professors Lester Faigley, Sam Wilson, and Peg Syverson.
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University of Toronto, History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST)
The history and philosophy of science and technology is a discipline that cuts across the sciences and humanities. HPS courses treat science and mathematics, medicine, and technology as: historically significant in themselves, integral components of the general development of knowledge, culture, and society and conceptually and theoretically rich domains for philosophical analysis. Graduate and undergraduate courses explore these various features, and, in so doing, provide a wider context for the understanding of science and its applications.
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University of Vienna, Department of Social Studies of Science
Based on high-quality research, our aim is to foster critical reflexive debate concerning the developments of science, technology and society with scientists and students from all disciplines, but also with wider publics. Our research is mainly organized in third party financed projects, often based on interdisciplinary teamwork and aims at comparative analysis. Beyond this we offer our expertise and know-how in particular to practitioners working at the crossroad of science, technology and society.
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University of Virginia, Department of Science, Technology and Society
The STS Department advances understanding of the social and ethical dimensions of science and technology. Our teaching promotes students’ communication skills, their moral imaginations, and their understanding of the social foundations of technology. Our research promotes critical understanding of the interactions between technological change, science, and society. The STS Department’s teaching and research helps students, the academic community, and the public to understand, to develop, and to use technology for advancing human welfare.
STS in a Nutshell
This department is the only STS program in the U.S. that is situated within an engineering school at a national, comprehensive university. Faculty in the department are close to the point of the knowledge production they study while, at the same time, they are partners in engineering education.
STS faculty research helps to advance understanding of the complex interrelations among science, engineering, technology, and society.
STS faculty come from a variety of disciplines including history, literature, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and religious studies, as well as STS programs at other universities.
All STS faculty are committed to a multidisciplinary research area that is called science and technology studies (alternatively, science, technology, and society).
STS programs, including several that offer doctoral degrees, are found in many of the nation’s finest universities, including Cornell, Stanford, and MIT.
STS professional societies include the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) and the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT).
STS is responsible for teaching four required courses to all undergraduate engineering students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia.
The STS Department also runs periodic Conferences and regular Colloquia on topics related to the discipline.
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University of Washington, Seattle, Science and Technology Studies
Use science and technology to transform your career! The Science and Technology Program at the University of Washington Bothell prepares students to enter the science, technology and biomedical/biotechnology workforce and to qualify for related graduate programs and professional schools.
Our program is built on innovation and diversity and uses multiple teaching methods and technologies to create an environment of inclusiveness and success for all students.
As with all programs at UW Bothell, Science and Technology emphasizes close collaboration between students and faculty through team-based projects, presentations, research opportunities, internships and work-study programs, creating a positive, experiential learning environment.
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University of Wisconsin-Madison – Science and Technology Studies
A unique collaboration across the boundaries of the modern research university to promote the understanding of science, technology and medicine as human enterprises, Science and technology studies (STS) is a growing field of study that seeks to understand how science and technology shape human lives and livelihoods and how society and culture, in turn, shape the development of science and technology.
By focusing scholarly attention on science and technology as human institutions, situated in wider historical, social, and political contexts, STS provides insights into the relationship between science and technology and such basic categories of social thought as race and gender, poverty and development, trust and credibility, participation and democracy, health and pathology, risk and uncertainty, globalization, and environmental protection.
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University of Wisconsin-Madison, Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies
Science and technology studies (STS) is a growing field of study in the United States and around the world that seeks to understand how science and technology shape human lives and livelihoods and how society and culture, in turn, shape the development of science and technology. From the automobile to the internet, and from cloning to the Earth’s climate, modern life is intimately entwined with advances in science and technology. Every social issue, from AIDS and economic growth to arms control and crime, entails important scientific and technological aspects.
By focusing scholarly attention on science and technology as human institutions, situated in wider historical, social, and political contexts, STS provides insights into the relationship between science and technology and such basic categories of social thought as race and gender, poverty and development, trust and credibility, participation and democracy, health and pathology, risk and uncertainty, globalization, and environmental protection. STS theories and methods offer new approaches to understanding scientific and technological change and their intersections with other social, political, and economic dynamics.
As an academic program, STS offers students an opportunity to learn skills and approaches for understanding the political and cultural implications of new technologies, as well as the role of science and expertise in the making of public policy. STS prepares students to be more active and effective participants in public debates about science and technology. The field also prepares students for the many expanding career opportunities in managing science and technology in a democratic society, including the management of scientific and technological research, science and technology policy, the design and maintenance of museum exhibits and archival collections, science journalism, science advice and expert assessment, and science, technology, and the law.
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Uppsala University, Department of History of Science
http://www.idehist.uu.se/vethist/
Division of History of Science is a research unit at the Department of Science and Ideas history . It engages in advanced research and fosters intellectual exchange in the history of science. The department’s employees seek to understand scientific work, its practitioners as well as its ideals, as historical phenomena. With the establishment of the Hans Rausing Professor of History of Science – the holder of which also serves as director – has a large number of initiatives to foster a vibrant research environment: The Department regularly receives visiting professors, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students, all of which reinforces the ongoing research while contributing to the department’s teaching. Each year the Department invites a distinguished scholar in the field to keep Hans Rausing lecture. With irregularly arranged symposia on current research topics. A research seminar is held regularly with the department.
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Virginia Tech, Science and Technology in Society
As one of the nation’s first STS programs, we locate STS at the intersection of scholarship, engagement, and action. Along with pioneering programs such as the Choices and Challenges Forum, recent innovations include the journal Engineering Studies; TWISTS (Theater Workshop in Science Technology and Society); and the Humanities, Science, and Environment major. Our specialties range from S&T Policy to social studies of medicine, with concentrations in political sociology, engineering studies, and the history and philosophy of technology.
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York University (Toronto), Science & Technology Studies
Science & Technology Studies offers an interdisciplinary program of study focused on the critical role of science and technology, both past and present. Research in the field applies the methods and theories of the humanities, social sciences and cultural studies to the examination of technology and scientific knowledge and practice.
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Zurich, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and University of Zurich, Center for the History of Knowledge
The Center has the task of researching the history of modern systems of knowledge the knowledge society. This includes reflecting on the genesis, the maintenance, and the decline of scientific, technological, and medical knowledge, as well as on the non-scientific forms of knowledge that orient values in the everyday life world.
Modern societies have a tendency to overestimate their own accepted forms and rules of knowledge acquisition and transmission. It remains an unquestioned assumption that modern natural science and technology owe their success exclusively to the application of precise methods. People place too much faith in scientific expert knowledge. Rules of thumb, practical experience, or ‘tacit knowledge’ are given little significance, even though accidents or catastrophes are often averted only through implicit practical knowledge, which can adapt much more easily in a complex and dynamic environment. Even knowledge that appears definite must be corrected constantly. Knowledge that has long been seen as necessary and useful can suddenly turn out to be problematic, and can come to be seen as a risk by society.
It follows that both the evolution of themes and contents of knowledge, as well as the methods of gathering knowledge, are historically contingent processes that are not guided towards truth by an overarching logic. This contingency makes historical research and empirical case studies a necessity. If the development of knowledge and its epistemic, technical, and cultural preconditions and consequences are seen as a fundamentally open process, then it is imperative that this development of knowledge is constantly interrogated critically. The Competence Center ‘History of Knowledge’ takes these considerations on board by focusing transdisciplinary contributions to thinking about such categories as ‘Knowledge’ or ‘Knowledge Society’, and by offering a platform for developing new forms of knowledge production.