Why and how do science and engineering and technologies generate inequities, control over resources, and impact on economy and culture? Is any development that's good for business also good for science? How do national politics influence what kind of science gets done and what technology gets developed? How do humans experience the value of science and technology or not? This course focuses on engaging students in these and similar other questions to understand the integral relationships between science, technology, and society. This course will introduce students to foundational concepts, themes, and questions developed within the interdisciplinary field of STS (science, technology, and society). For example, we will attempt to understand the relationships between two areas of science content (genes and genetics and nuclear energy), engineering and technology (CRISPR-Cas9 technology and atomic bomb), and society by exploring the experienced and potential benefits and harm of these developments. The readings allow learners to engage with science content as well as sociological and anthropological understandings of science practices; sociological and political perspectives on technological and scientific (techno-scientific) controversies; cultural, social, and philosophical relationships between technology, science, and humans; and politics of negotiations between scientific experts and the public and public policies.
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