Science, Policy, and Society

Catalog description

How do science and technology impact society, politics, and culture? This course, essentially an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Science, Technology, and Society (aka Social Studies of Science, Science and Technology Studies), is designed to explore how modern science has become a dominant social and political force in the twenty-first century. STS emerged in the 1960s-70s as scholars began questioning the social and political implications of scientific and technological progress; relevant fields in STS include the history of science, philosophy of science, and science communication. While this course is grounded in anthropology, it is most relevant to interdisciplinary programs including Environmental Studies, Communication Studies, and Policy Studies. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies major and interdisciplinary minor. Satisfies a requirement in Film, Media, and Digital Studies Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor.