Science studies is an interdisciplinary research area that seeks to situate scientific expertise in a broad social, historical, and philosophical context. It is concerned with the history of scientific disciplines, the interrelationships between science and society, and the alleged covert purposes that underlie scientific claims. While it is critical of science, it holds out the possibility of broader public participation in science policy issues. Interdisciplinarity is a type of academic collaboration in which specialists drawn from two or more academic disciplines work together in pursuit of common goals. ... Expertise is the property of a person (that is, expert) or of a system which delivers a desired result such as pertinent information or skill. ... Discipline is any training intended to produce a specific character or pattern of behaviour, especially training that produces moral, physical, or mental development in a particular direction. ...

The word "studies" is used (as opposed to, for example, theory) because most science studies practitioners investigate particular phenomena (technological milieus, laboratory culture, science policy, the role of the university, etc.) without subscribing to a particular view of the topic. The word theory has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. ...

History of Science Studies

Science studies is best understood as a moment in a steadily widening conversation, in which scholars with interests in the social, historical, and philosophical analysis of science and technology have achieved a succession of wider integrations. Numerous disciplines have contributed to this conversation, but two stand out: the history and philosophy of science and the sociology of scientific knowledge. The history and philosophy of science (HPS) is an academic discipline that encompasses the philosophy of science and the history of science. ... The sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK), closely related to the sociology of science, considers social influences on science. ...

Drawing on the work of Thomas Samuel Kuhn, especially his Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), history and philosophy of science united scholars in both disciplines who shared interests in not only the history of science, but also its philosophical underpinnings. Kuhn's work established that the history of science was not necessarily a linear succession of discoveries, which bring us closer to the truth, but rather a succession of paradigms, which are broader, socio-intellectual constructs that determine which types of truth claims are permissible. Cover of a biography of Thomas Kuhn. ... The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Thomas Kuhn, 1962) is an analysis of the history of science. ... Since the late 1960s, the word paradigm has referred to a thought pattern in any scientific discipline or other epistemological context. ...

Meanwhile, the sociology of scientific knowledge developed at the University of Edinburgh, where David Bloor and his colleagues developed a powerful intellectual synthesis, which has been termed the Strong Programme, which was based on what Bloor called the empirical programme of relativism and the principle of symmetry. In brief, the Strong Programme holds that science studies scholars should remain neutral with respect to the truth claims science makes: they should explain the success or failure of a scientific theory in the same terms. Previously, successful scientific theories were attributed to having discovered the truth of the matter, while failed theories were attributed to the bias introduced by social factors, such as religious belief or racism. According to the Strong Programme, the outcome of all scientific controversies— successful or not— should be explained by social factors. The sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK), closely related to the sociology of science, considers social influences on science. ... David Bloor is the director of the Science Studies Unit at the University of Edinburgh (see Edinburgh School). ... The Strong Program/Programme is a variety of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) particularly associated with David Bloor, Barry Barnes, and Bruno Latour. ... The Strong Program/Programme is a variety of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) particularly associated with David Bloor, Barry Barnes, and Bruno Latour. ...

As science studies programs took shape, scholars were drawn into the conversation from other disciplines, including history of science and technology, sociology of science, philosophy of science, and anthropology, but also literature, art history, cultural studies, gender studies, history of consciousness, medicine, law and computer science (see Scientific Community Metaphor). The history of science and technology (HST) is a field of history which examines how humanitys understanding of science and technology has changed over the millennia. ... The sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK), closely related to the sociology of science, considers social influences on science. ... Philosophy of science studies the philosophical assumptions, foundations, and implications of science, including the formal sciences, natural sciences, and social sciences. ... Anthropolology (from the Greek word , man or person+knowledge) consists of the study of humanity (see genus Homo). ... Old book bindings at the Merton College library. ... This article is about the academic discipline of art history. ... Cultural studies is an academic discipline popular among a diverse group of Anglo-American scholars. ... Gender studies is a theoretical work in the social sciences or humanities that focuses on issues of sex and gender in language and society, and often addresses related issues including racial and ethnic oppression, postcolonial societies, and globalization. ... History of Consciousness is an interdisciplinary graduate program with links to the sciences, social sciences, and humanities at the University of California in Santa Cruz, California. ... medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ... Equality and the balancing of interests under law is symbolised by a blindfold and weighing scales For other senses of this word, see Law (disambiguation). ... Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... The Scientific Community Metaphor is an approach in computer science to understanding and performing scientific communities. ...

In the 1980s, a turn to technology occurred as science studies scholars such as Wiebe Bijker and Steve Woolgar argued that technology could be examined using the principle of symmetry. As a result, many science studies programs added "technology" to their names, and started calling their field Science and technology studies This "turn to technology" brought science studies into communication with academics in science, technology, and society programs. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Steve Woolgar is a sociologist who has worked very close to Bruno Latour, with whom he co-authored Laboratory Life: the Social Construction of Scientific Facts. ... Science and technology studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary research area that is broadly concerned with the depiction of science and technology as socially embedded enterprises. ...

See also

• Humanities policy
• Merton Thesis
• Science and technology studies
• Science, technology, and society
• Science wars
• The Strong Programme

Humanities policy denotes the attempt to integrate ethical and philosophical concerns within the policy making process. ... The Merton Thesis is an argument about the nature of early experimental science proposed by Robert K. Merton. ... Science and technology studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary research area that is broadly concerned with the depiction of science and technology as socially embedded enterprises. ... Science and technology studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary research area that is broadly concerned with the depiction of science and technology as socially embedded enterprises. ... The Science wars were a series of intellectual battles in the 1990s between postmodernists and realists (though neither party would likely use the terms to describe themselves) about the nature of scientific theories. ... The Strong Program/Programme is a variety of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) particularly associated with David Bloor, Barry Barnes, and Bruno Latour. ...

Related people

• David Bloor
• Barry Barnes
• Michel Callon
• Harry Collins
• Michel Foucault
• Steve Fuller
• Elihu M. Gerson
• Donna Haraway
• Carl Hewitt
• Thomas Samuel Kuhn
• Bruno Latour
• John Law
• Lawrence Lessig
• Donald MacKenzie
• Robert K. Merton
• Walter J. Ong
• Andrew Pickering
• Neil Postman
• Sal Restivo
• Steven Shapin
• C. P. Snow
• Susan Leigh Star
• Anselm Strauss
• Lucy Suchman
• Dhruv Raina
• Syed Irfan Habib
• Vandana Shiva
• Ashis Nandy
• Shiv Viswanathan
• JPS Uberoi
• Gyan Prakash
• Zahir Baber
• Itty Abraham
• Kavitha Philip
• Claude Alvaris

David Bloor is the director of the Science Studies Unit at the University of Edinburgh (see Edinburgh School). ... Professor of Sociology at the University of Exeter. ... Michel Callon is a Professor at the Ecole des Mines de Paris. ... Harry Collins in 2004 is a professor at the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. ... Michel Foucault (IPA pronunciation: ; English-speakers pronunciation varies) (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher and historian. ... Steve Fuller in 2005. ... Donna Haraway, born in 1944 in Denver, Colorado, is currently a professor and former chair of the History of Consciousness Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, United States. ... Carl E. Hewitt is an Associate Professor (Emeritus) in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). ... Cover of a biography of Thomas Kuhn. ... Bruno Latour Bruno Latour (born June 1947, Beaune, France) is a French sociologist of science best known for his books We Have Never Been Modern, Laboratory Life, and Science in Action, describing the process of scientific research from the perspective of social construction based on field observations of working scientists. ... There have been a number of famous individuals named John Law: John Law (economist), (bap. ... Note: This article title may be easily confused with Lawrence Lessing. ... Donald MacKenzie is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Edinburgh. ... Editing Robert K. Merton This article is about the sociologist. ... Walter Ong Father Walter Jackson Ong, Ph. ... Andrew Pickering is a sociologist and historian of science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. ... Neil Postman (March 8, 1931 - October 5, 2003) was a prominent American educator, media theorist, and cultural critic. ... Sal Restivo is a leading contributor to science studies and in particular to the sociology of mathematical knowledge. ... Steven Shapin is Franklin L. Ford Professor of the History of Science, joining Harvard in 2004 after previous appointments as Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego, and at the Science Studies Unit, Edinburgh University. ... Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow, CBE (15 October 1905–1 July 1980) was a scientist and novelist. ... Anselm L. Strauss (December 18, 1916_September 5, 1996) was a sociologist, who worked the field of medical sociology. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Vandana Shiva (b. ... Ashis Nandy is a political psychologist and sociologist of science who works at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi, India. ...

Bibliography

Science studies, general

• Bauchspies, W., Jennifer Croissant and Sal Restivo: "Science, Technology, and Society: A Sociological Perspective" (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005).
• Biagioli, Mario, ed. The Science Studies Reader (New York: Routledge, 1999).
• Fuller, Steve, The Philosophy of Science and Technology Studies (New York: Routledge, 2006).
• Jasanoff, Sheila, ed. Handbook of science and technology studies (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1995).
• Latour, Bruno, "The Last Critique," Harper's Magazine (April 2004): 15-20.
• Latour, Bruno. "Science in Action". Cambridge. 1987.
• Latour, Bruno, "Do You Believe in Reality: News from the Trenches of the Science Wars," in Pandora's Hope (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999)
• Mary Wyer, Donna Cookmeyer, Mary Barbercheck ed. Women, Science and Technology: A Reader in Feminist Science Studies, Routledge 2001

Objectivity and truth

• Haraway, Donna J. "Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective," in Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: the Reinvention of Nature (New York: Routledge, 1991), 183-201. (available online)
• Foucault, Michel, "Truth and Power," in Power/Knowledge (New York: Pantheon Books, 1997), 109-133.
• Porter, Theodore M. Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
• Restivo, Sal: "Science, Society, and Values: Toward a Sociology of Objectivity" (Lehigh PA: Lehigh University Press, 1994).

Medicine and biology

• Fadiman, Anne, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997). (website)
• Martin, Emily, "Toward an Anthropology of Immunology: The Body as Nation State," in Mario Biagioli, ed., The Science Studies Reader (New York: Routledge, 1999), 358-371.
• Dumit, Joseph, "Picturing Personhood: Brain Scans and Biomedical Identity" (Princeton University Press, 2004).

Media, culture, society and technology

• Neil Postman. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Penguin USA, 1985. ISBN 0-670-80454-1
• Lawrence Lessig. Free Culture. Penguin USA, 2004. ISBN 1-59420-006-8
• Howard Rheingold. Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. Cambridge: Mass., Perseus Publishing. 2002.
• Jeff Hancock. Deception and design: the impact of communication technology on lying behavior
• William J. Mitchell. Rethinking Media Change Thorburn and Jennings eds. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 2003.
• Donald MacKenzie. The Social Shaping of Technology Open University Press: 2nd ed. 1999. ISBN 0-335-19913-5

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (1985), is a controversial book by Neil Postman in which he argued that mediums of communication inherently influence the conversations carried out over them, that television is the primary means of communication for our culture, that television has... Free Culture may refer to: Free Culture (book) by Lawrence Lessig Free Culture movement, a social movement for freer culture (inspired partly by the book) FreeCulture. ...

External links

• STS Wiki
• Sociology of Science
• The Incommensurability of Scientific and Poetic Knowledge

www.runescape.com