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Critical Introduction to Science,
Technology, and
Society Studies
ENVS 5110 - 3 credits
Course Homepage
http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/about_us/meet_us/carl_mitcham/courses_taught/5110/
Location
Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, Conference Room #111
1333
Grandview Avenue (View Map)
Time
Tuesdays, 4.00-6.30pm
Instructor Contact Information
Prof. Carl Mitcham
Faculty Associate,
Center for Science and Technology Policy Research
Professor of
Liberal Arts and International Studies, Colorado School of Mines
-
Phone: 303-273-3648
Best contact: cmitcham@mines.edu, please always put STS somewhere in the subject line
Basic Course Description
A critical introduction to science, technology, and society relationships and their scholarly analysis.
Elaborating Introductory Note
The rise of modern science and technology has presented a series of challenges to society. In the 1500s and 1600s (with the Scientific Revolution led by such figures as Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, René Descartes, and Isaac Newton) and again in the 1800s (with Charles Darwin) conflicts arose between science and religion; these conflicts have continued into the present. In the late 1700s and 1800s (with the Industrial Revolution led by economists such as Adam Smith and inventors such as James Watt) special problems arose for economics and politics; these problems have been resolved by neither capitalism, socialism, nor democracy. The 20th century advent of nuclear weapons, electronic computers, and biotechnologies — followed in the 21st century by globalization and nanotechnology — have only intensified multiple challenges that range across issues of personal belief and social justice to technological risk, environmental pollution, cultural integrity, and self-identify. Issues of professional ethics and responsibility among scientists and engineers, as well as science and technology policy, are further dimensions of STS studies. The present seminar will constitute a critical, general introduction to the scholarship related to such issues.