Module details for 2026/27.

15 credits

FHEQ Level 7 (Masters)

Module Outline

This module is an introduction to social studies of science and technology. It starts out with the recognition that techno-scientific developments such as gene editing and climate geoengineering are political issues, embroiled not only in controversies among scientists and engineers but also subject to wider public debates. Participants in these debates include civil society organisations and social movements, which may oppose or promote specific technologies and ways of knowing. The module explores how socioeconomic interests (including those of different user groups) and political forces such as public protests and government regulations attempt to influence the making of science and technology in (R&D) laboratories and test sites, alongside the norms and routines of scientists and engineers themselves. In this process of making techno-scientific facts and artefacts, various socio-political forces and biophysical processes become entangled with each other.

This module will further introduce students to debates on how sciences and technologies intervene in wider social and material reality. Scientists (including those doing the social sciences) and engineers not only provide policy advice but also play a role in running corporations and work with civil society organizations. And in doing so, their facts and artefacts intertwined with cultural values and market forces shape how people relate to each other and to the natural world. Remaking these relations may be central to realising futures that are truly sustainable and emancipatory.

Each lecture in the module will introduce an influential theory or set of concepts developed in Science, Technology and Society studies. Among others, theories and concepts covered include social construction of scientific knowledge and of technology, actor-network theory, sciences as practices, co-production of science and society, risk, uncertainty and ambiguity. Each lecture will be complemented with a seminar discussion on the theories and concepts as they are put into use for empirical analyses of specific sciences and technologies ranging from marine biology to electric cars and wind power.

Module learning outcomes

Develop an in-depth understanding of key debates in Social Studies of Science and Technology since the 1970s.

Analyse how sciences and technologies are implicated in political and cultural developments in the different societies in the global north and south.

Critically examine mediating roles played by specific innovations in enriching wider democratic transformations in moder societies.

Examine different ways in which the production of modern sciences and technologies may be further democratized.

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Timing

Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.

Weighting

Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.

How to read the week pattern

The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.

Dr Saurabh Arora

Convenor, Assess convenor
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