Introduction in Society, Science and Technology Studies

Full course description

The basic characteristic of the ESST programme is an insistence on the necessity to think about social, cultural, historical, political and economic circumstances in order to understand the evolution of science and technology. The development of science is often seen as, in essence, an autonomous process - a process of gradual accumulation of knowledge, driven by purely internal imperatives, such as the search for truth. In the same vein, technology has often been considered as a process of applied science, which simply follows previous scientific advance. The field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) challenges these perspectives. The first module in the ESST programme introduces students to STS, and lays the foundation for new ways of understanding. Students get acquainted with a number of perspectives that integrate scientific and technological development with its wider contexts, and that show how science and technology both shape and are shaped by social, economic, cultural, and political forces. This is true for the past, the present, and the future, and hence students will both grasp how things have happened and how they may be shaped to create a better world tomorrow.