Due date |
Assignment |
See |
|
1/26 |
Informal
clinic presentations |
|
|
2/02 |
Project
topic and thesis |
|
|
2/9 |
Project
description and outline |
|
|
3/01 |
Annotated
bibliography |
|
|
3/10 |
Exam |
|
|
4/19, 4/20 |
Presentations |
|
|
4/26 |
Final
report |
M
1/20
MLK Day – No Class
Week 2 Orientation
1/26 Syllabus/ Overview of semester
Introductory comments: Science, Technology, Society, and Culture – de Laet
Brief
project presentations
Section 1: History, sociology and anthropology of technology and science In this section we present background materials on social studies and humanistic approaches to science and technology. The various disciplines put different emphases and use different approaches towards the analysis of the relations between science, technology, society and culture; in this sections we identify some of their methods and approaches, in order to make them usable for you in the analysis of your clinic project.
2/02 Background and theory
Read handouts Cadillac Desert
film: Cadillac Desert part 1; Discussion
Week 4 Technology and Culture
Section 2: Sociotechnical systems; networks In this section we present a view of technology as embedded in, and dependent upon, a broader socio-technical environment: a technology cannot live alone. The term “socio-technical system” points to (1) this interdependence of technology and society: while technological change has effects upon societal arrangements, it is brought about and shaped by the demands and constraints that society presents; (2) the notion that technologies require chains of heterogeneous elements (people, funds, scientific theories, other technologies) to be developed, used, and maintained.
Week 5 Socio-technical systems and models I
Read
Latour Aramis
Discussion
Week 6 Socio-technical systems and models II
2/23 A History of Electricity
Read
Nye Consuming Power, chapters 1-5
Lecture-discussion: approaches and methods of analysis – de Laet
Discussion
Week 7 Socio-Technical Systems and models III
3/01 Desinging Engineers
3/8 Open book class discussion of exam questions; instructors absent
Exam
due Wednesday 3/10
Section 3: Technology and Environment In this section we discuss the social and environmental impact of several technological innovations, and the controversies that have arisen around them. These discussions are grounded in the case studies we presented before the break so it is advisable to keep the previous reading materials ready.
Week 10 Technology and Environment I
3/22 California Energy Crisis
Read
packet of articles (Tanenbaum; handout); Nye chapters 6-9
Lecture-discussion
Tanenbaum
Week 11 Technology and Environment II
3/29 A sociology of environmental hazards
Read Hurley Environmental
Inequalities
Discussion
Section 4: Public, markets, users; design In this section we analyze the way in which the design process is shaped by user demand, user capabilities, and market factors. Recalling Law’s concept of “heterogeneous engineering,” we present design as the moment where the intersections of science technology society and culture come alive: engineering not only produces technology but also and at the same time constructs a social environment in which such technology can be (seen as) viable. In situations of technical innovation, key factors are future costs, future profits, and future use. Estimating such factors and “inscribing” them in the product is part of the process of constructing new technology.
Week 12 Design: Publics, Markets, Users
4/05Inscribing the User
Read handouts (Callon; de Laet
& Mol; Law)
Discussion
Week 13 Wrap up: Technology and Culture Revisited
4/12
Ethics, Morals, Values
Read Pacey rest
Discussion
Week 14 Student Project Presentations
4/19
and 4/20 (?)
Section 5: Technology and culture This section summarizes and wraps up the relations between technology and culture; drawing on reading materials and student presentations.
Week 15 No class