Science, Technology, and Human Values

Catalog description

Science and technology have the potential to improve our lives, yet they also challenge the basic values of our humanity. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, this course explores the impact of science and technology on human culture, history, and understanding. Through critical engagement with scientific and social theory we explore how science and technology impact human cultures and values and we question what these developments mean for human societies in a global context. We explore topics such as global climate change, pollution, the nature of knowledge, science and gender, surveillance and security, nuclear energy, fracking, weapons of mass destruction, communications, the internet, hacking, genetic modification, space exploration, cosmology, cloning, artificial intelligence and medicine.