Science, Technology and Society
Science, Technology and society (STS) is an interdisciplinary field that studies the conditions under which the production, distribution and utilization of scientific knowledge and technological systems occur and traces the consequences of these activities upon different groups of people. The intercollegiate program brings together courses taught in a variety of departments, and is divided into three principal disciplinary areas that are applied to science and technology: history, philosophy and social science (anthropology and public policy analysis). Courses explore the effects of science and technology on society and culture, and vice versa. General topics include the politics of socio-technical systems; analysis of scientific methodology in terms of objectivity and rationality; the social factors involved in producing scientific knowledge and technological change; moral and policy analysis of technological systems. More specifically, courses cover topics such as concepts of health, disease and disability; the political economy of pollution; the culture of the scientific laboratory; theories of race, eugenics and genetics engineering; and social networking and the Internet.
Students majoring in STS are well prepared to pursue graduate study in related fields and also have a solid foundation for work as science journalists, policy researchers and advisers, science educators, design and business consultants, and advocates of change around issues such as gender and science, renewable energy and the social effects of the information revolution. In addition, STS is an excellent academic background for students intending to pursue careers in medicine, law, business and education. Because Science, Technology and Society is inherently interdisciplinary, combined majors in this field are not available.
Pitzer advisers: G. Herrera, B. Keeley, J. Lorenat, S. Snowiss, A. Wakefield.
Major Requirements
The major in Science, Technology and Society requires the completion of at least 13 courses.
Required Courses
Core Course (1)
“Science and Technolology Practice” Courses (3)
STS is about knowledge-making practices, so students should experience those practices directly. Students must take three courses in a STEM field (science, mathematics, computer science, or engineering) that all fulfill requirements for majoring in that STEM field, of which at least one course must have a prerequisite in that STEM field or be second (or greater) in a sequence required for that major.
“Context and Theory” Courses (3)
These courses explicitly examine science and technology as social institutions, and explore the theories, concepts and methods one encounters in doing so.
Courses in History, Philosophy or Social Sciences (3)
Three additional Science, Technology, and Society courses in History or Philosophy or Social Sciences. This requirement asks students to acquire depth in one of the main disciplinary areas of STS. One of these courses may be replaced with a senior thesis. A thesis student chooses a member of the STS field group as a primary mentor in the research project, and will also need a second reader. The student’s program must be determined in consultation with both readers and must show intellectual integrity and academic coherence.
Electives (2)
Two Science, Technology and Society electives.
Senior Seminar (1)
