STS 6251 - Visualization and Discourse in Science

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

M. Lynch.

This seminar covers two interrelated areas of science and technology studies: visualization and discourse. Visualization refers to the practices and technologies through which scientists and designers develop images, graphs, models, and other representations. Discourse refers, broadly, to practical uses of language. In the context of this course, discourse and visualization will be treated as important aspects of the production of scientific data and technological artifacts. The course will focus mainly on historical and ethnographic studies that pay close attention to the material practices and linguistic repertoires through which scientific and technological innovations are made visible, palpable, and intersubjectively accountable.