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STS: Science, Technology and Society

The document provides an overview of Science, Technology and Society (STS) as an interdisciplinary field of study. It discusses how STS examines the interaction between science/technology and society/culture, and how discoveries and inventions are shaped by both historical forces and influence values and institutions. STS prepares students to understand both the technical and social aspects of science and technology. The document also distinguishes between the academic study of STS, which involves history, philosophy and social studies of science and technology, and activist STS, which gets involved in current issues impacting society.

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James Dagohoy Ambay
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67 views

STS: Science, Technology and Society

The document provides an overview of Science, Technology and Society (STS) as an interdisciplinary field of study. It discusses how STS examines the interaction between science/technology and society/culture, and how discoveries and inventions are shaped by both historical forces and influence values and institutions. STS prepares students to understand both the technical and social aspects of science and technology. The document also distinguishes between the academic study of STS, which involves history, philosophy and social studies of science and technology, and activist STS, which gets involved in current issues impacting society.

Uploaded by

James Dagohoy Ambay
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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STS: Science, Technology and Society

What is STS?
Defining Science and Technology
Science, Technology and Society (STS)
 The intellectual roots of STS lie in the history, philosophy, and
social study of science and technology, an arena where often-
controversial issues and choices interface with values and
influence public policy.
 STS prepares students to understand both the technical and social
dimensions of science and technology, helps them become more
thoughtful and better-informed citizens of our high-tech society,
and develops their critical interdisciplinary thinking, research, and
communication skills.
 Students flourish intellectually in an environment where critical
questioning is encouraged and opportunities for research are
abundant. The STS program maintains a full slate of guest
speakers, often co-sponsored by other departments, for the benefit
of students and the larger community.
On a personal level, STS is…

Interdisciplinary education for life.


Relevant to every field of study.
A great major or double major or “the minor for all
majors”.
A way to improve your writing and communications
skills, problem-solving abilities, and ability to adapt
to changes in science and technology.
Attractive to potential employers.
Needed at all levels, in education, government, the
private sector, and internationally.
STS is…

Interdisciplinary study of the interaction of


science and technology with society and
culture.
The realization that discoveries and
inventions are shaped by historical forces
and in turn influence values, aspirations,
events, and institutions, thus shaping the
course of history.
S and T in social and cultural context.
Both academic and activist.
ACADEMIC STS
Scholarly Study of Science and Technology.
History, Philosophy, Sociology of S & T.
Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary.
Perennial and structural problems of history,
philosophy, and human nature.
Science dynamics
Technological dynamics
Informs activist STS issues.
ACTIVIST STS
Gets involved in current issues.
Covers a broad social spectrum (not just academic).
Builds coalitions:
1. Awareness of a problem
2. Need to take responsibility
3. Draw on external expertise
4. Make decisions and take actions
(demonstrate, litigate, educate, legislate, etc.).
Strengths —relevance, empowerment, democratic.
Weaknesses — ad hoc, emotional, NIMBY.
Examples: nuclear power, toxic wastes, health care,
climate change action.
The Two Cultures
What does it mean to be human?

Two Possibilities

Homo sapiens sapiens


Primates who think (a lot)
Contemplative
Homo farber
Primates who make things
Manipulative
Science is. . .
Natural knowledge
Natural philosophy
Natural history
Systematic inquiry into nature
A human cultural activity
A total societal enterprise
With vast social consequences
Organized, well-founded knowledge of nature and
human nature
“A sophisticated intellectual version of Esperanto or
the universal language that the heroes of the
scientific revolution imagined as an instrument of
global communication”
“The cutting edge of ignorance”
How do we define science?
CONTENT Body of organized knowledge about nature
From Latin scientia - knowledge

METHOD Of obtaining that knowledge, experiment,


observation, hypothesis, theory, law

ATTITUDE Organized and systematic skepticism

GOALS Explanation, understanding, prediction, control

LANGUAGE Mathematics and technical vocabulary

TOOLS Uses Instruments and technologies

COMMUNITY Discipline, education, credentials,


careers, patrons, societies, “turf”

PROCESS Organized, but very diverse activity shaped by


social forces and historical change
In general:

 Science is an organized, hierarchical activity that


investigates nature and human nature by experiment and
observation.
 Its goals are explanation, understanding, prediction, and
control.
 It tests its theories by logical, mathematical, and
technological means.
 Science is shaped by social forces and historical change.
 While seeking objectivity, science also shapes culture.
Stereotypes

Newton,

John Hershel,

Darwin
Stereotypes
Technology
a. Artifacts or Hardware. Products fabricated by
humans to meet specific needs. Tools,
machines, implements.
b. Knowledge and Methods. A system of tacit and
explicit knowledge, techniques, and materials
utilized in using, making, or repairing a certain
kind of artifact.
c. A human cultural activity or profession. e.g.
military or civil engineers, crafters, machinists.
d. A total societal enterprise. e.g. “American
technological know-how.” R&D, invention,
patronage, mass production and mass
consumption.
What is Technology?
A discourse or treatise on an art or arts;
The scientific study of the practical or industrial arts.
Techne (art, craft, skill), Logos (word).

Some other attempts at definitions:


• A system based on the application of knowledge, manifested in physical
objects and organizational forms, for the attainment of specific goals —
Volti
• Cumulative sum of means used to satisfy human needs and desires and to
solve specific problems —Markert
• The sum total of systems of machines and techniques that underlie a
civilization —Nye
• Not merely a system of machines with certain functions, but an expression
of a social world —Nye
• The production of superfluities – today as in the Paleolithic age —Ortega y
Gasset
• “The seeping false-hearted death” —DeLillo

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