stss6040technologyandsocialtheory.docVIP

STSS 6040: Technology and Social Theory Fall 2003 Graduate Course Atsushi Akera, x2314 Department of Science and Technology Studies akeraa@ Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ofc hrs: Tue. 12-1pm Tuesdays, 9am-12n, Sage 5711 by appt. (Sage 5206) In response to graduate student interest, Tech and Social Theory will experimentally be offered this semester in a manner that is closely tied to the department’s qualifying examination in technology. The general format will be that of a reading seminar, with weekly readings organized principally around disciplinary and topical divisions of the tech exam list. I’ve taken a general look at our overall graduate curriculum. Due to our decision to eliminate the master’s core, and the fact that we do not have an introductory pro-seminar in our program, I am looking at “tech and social theory”, “science and social theory” and “science and technology policy” as serving as a basic introduction to the content, theories, and methods of STS. I have tried to choose a course design and a set of objectives that do so while complementing the other offerings in the department. As noted below, the primary emphasis of this course will be that of developing critical (and constructive!) reading skills, and providing an initial foundation for exploring the breadth and depth of the contemporary technology studies literature. This course will also ask you to learn how to identify and engage with the strengths and weaknesses of the disciplinary traditions, theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches that can be found within STS. It is not, however, constructed as a formal introduction to these constitutive elements of our field. Formal introduction to the disciplines, theory and methods of STS is expected to take place in other courses (e.g.: Mike’s “Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, and the Technosciences,” Ron’s “Cultures of Inquiry,” and Kim’s “Advanced Qualitative Methods”). This course design is experimental. We will s