STS 7001 - Special Topic I: Science Studies and the Politics of Science

Spring. 4 credits. Student option grading.

S. Hilgartner.

The field of Science & Technology Studies (STS) has called attention to the contingent and socially embedded character of knowledge and technology. This seminar explores the consequences of these findings for the analysis of politics, considering such issues as trust and skepticism, political and legal agency, science and norms, responsible research and innovation, and the co-production of knowledge and social order. A prominent theme will be the role of science and technology in ordering the politics of democratic societies. What role does technical knowledge play in underwriting democracy? What problems of legitimacy arise from the interpretive flexibility of knowledge? How are stable settlements (sometimes) achieved in contexts of contingency? How are science and technology implicated in structuring power relations and shaping relationships between citizens and the state?