SOC30220

Science is one of the most important yet widely misunderstood institutions of the modern world, and this module provides and introduction to the social-scientific study of science. Prior to the 1970s, science remained a largely mysterious and semi-sacred institution sheltered from systematic research and investigation. Yet since then a rapidly expanding field of social studies of science has emerged that has drawn together sociologists, historians, philosophers and anthropologists in attempts to understand the nature of science and its place in the modern world. The module introduces students to this emerging field of study and research and will examine a range of topics that lie at the heart of the social-scientific study of science. These include: science in popular culture, competing approaches to the study of formal organised science, the nature of laboratories and experimental practices, the significance of technologies and artefacts, scientific communities and controversies, scientific literacy and public communication, and the politics of science and science policy. The module is organised in such a way that lectures, seminars and assessment are integrated and mutually-reinforcing, while the use of case studies will be prominent as a way of introducing students to the questions, issues, answers and approaches employed in the social-scientific study of science.