Where do science and technology come from? How did they become the most authoritative kinds of knowledge in our society? How do technology, culture, and society interact? What drives technological change? The course examines these questions using case studies from different historical periods. We shall discuss the emergence of science as a dimension of our modernity, and its relations to other traditions such as magic, religion, and art. The aim of the course is for students to learn about how science and technology shape the way we live and, especially, how technological change is invariably shaped by historical and social circumstances.

This course provides a foundation with which students can understand the complex interactions of science, technology, and the social world. Students will develop knowledge and analytical tools to grapple with a wide variety of topics in this area including the interaction between digital technologies and society, the ethical issues of medical technologies, the political dimension of climate change, the interaction between technology and the law, and the history of modern technology. This course provides a strong foundation for the new Minor in STS, a multidisciplinary field with a signature capacity to rethink the relationship among science, technology, and political and social life. The course will proceed in two parts. In the first half of the course, we will focus on major themes and issues in the field and assess strengths and weaknesses of leading theories and research methodologies. In the second half of the course, we will think about these problems on the grounds of, and via the apertures afforded by recent areas, terms, and other foci that have come to the forefront in our field. From climate change to population genomics, access to medicines and the impact of new media, the problems of our time are simultaneously scientific and social, technological and political, ethical and economic. Instructor bio: Instructor bio: Hannah Zeavin is a Lecturer in the Department of English at UC Berkeley, affiliated with the University of California at Berkeley Center for Science, Technology, Medicine, and Society. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU in 2018. She works as a media historian with particular expertise in the intertwined histories of communication, technology, and medicine. Her new book, The Distance Cure: A History of Teletherapy, is a transnational social history of mediated therapies from Freud's letters to apps for smartphones.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills