Courses

GEOG 595: Geographies of Technocapitalism (5 credits)

Erin McElroy
Wednesdays, 2:30-5:20 pm, SMI 409

Explores what technocapitalism is and how capitalist and technological developments have long been entangled in different geographic contexts. Focuses on labor, borders, war, infrastructure, urbanism, surveillance, data, governance, ecology, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, as well as anticapitalist experiments with technology and how different social movements have maintained emancipatory techno-imaginaries and practices. 

STSS 591: STSS in Action (2 credits)

David Ribes
Fridays, 1:30-3:20 pm, CDH 141

Provides an advanced introduction to science, technology, and society studies. Includes topics of active research interest in history and philosophy of science; social studies of science; science and technology policy; and ethics and equity issues.

ANTH 473: Anthropology of Science and Technology (5 credits)

Celia Lowe
Asynchronous, online

Introduces the study of science, technology, and data as social and cultural phenomena. Considers both theoretical and methodological questions. Readings include key texts from the interdisciplinary field of science studies as well as selected ethnographic texts. Examples are taken from U.S. society and other local contexts.

COM 539: Theories of Technology and Society  (5 credits)

Adrienne Russell
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30 am-12:20 pm, CMU 242

Provides a theoretical foundation for study in the area of communication technology and society by examining different contemporary theories of the social, political, and cultural implications of technological change. Takes a broad view of theories of communication innovations, tools, and technologies – including historical, critical, and comparative approaches.

DESIGN 582: Graduate Design Studio (5 credits)

Meichun Liu
Thursdays, 9:00-11:50 am, ART 204

This graduate studio will apply the principles of behavioral design to create design interventions aimed at exploring, developing, and examining designs that can achieve behavior change. It will introduce a range of behavioral design theories, methods, and studies to explore strategies for influencing short-term decisions and long-term behavior changes, particularly through tangible user interfaces and objects.

B H 544, PHG 544: Ethical Implications of Emerging Biotechnology (3 credits)

Stephanie Malia Fullerton
Mondays and Wednesdays, 3-4:20 pm, Health Sciences Bldg

Scientific and technological innovation in biomedicine is advancing at breakneck speed, with exciting new developments ranging from precision medicine to gene editing to regenerative medicine being reported on a near-daily basis. These emerging technologies and their application to disease prevention, treatment, and enhancement promise an array of individual and societal benefits; they also raise concerns related to the genetic manipulation of future generations, the automation of healthcare and medical decision‐making, and the extension of human lifespan, AND, as the last several years have reminded us, no matter how good the science, biotechnology is subject to the effects of broader sociopolitical and historical phenomena. This course will introduce students to select biomedical innovations and invite sustained consideration of the diverse ethical and social implications surrounding their development and potential use.

LSJ 491 C: Science, Technology, and Justice (5 credits)

Sebastián Rubiano-Galvis
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 am – 12:50 pm, MEB 234

This course introduces students to the relationships between science, technology, and contemporary struggles for rights and social justice through literature and debates from science and technology studies (STS) and socio-legal studies. The materials and class discussions will foreground how science and technology are critical sites of inquiry for understanding the collective meanings of democracy, equity, and justice and their implications for social justice mobilizations. In turn, we will learn how justice claims mobilized through the law shape critical scientific and technological innovations and societal expectations about them. Some topics to be discussed are the ethics of geoengineering, popular epidemiology, clean-mining technologies, algorithmic injustice, courts’ usages of artificial intelligence, the promise and limits of open science and citizen science, and the development of the human right to science. By the end of the quarter, students will have expanded their understanding of struggles for rights and justice by including the societal dimensions of science, knowledge, and technology, and they will be well-positioned to research legal problems using STS concepts and methods.

PHIL 560: Philosophy of Science (5 credits)

Carole J. Lee
Mondays 3:30-5:20 pm, in SAV 410

The focus this quarter will be the philosophy of the open science movement.

ENGL 488 Writing in Health and Medicine (5 credits)

Josephine Walwema
Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:30 am – 1:20 p.m., MGH 082

Health writing skills are valued within a variety of professions including medicine, public health, the environment, engineering, law, as well as journalism and professional writing. This course recognizes the interdisciplinary purposes of writing for the health sciences, as well as the variety of goals and levels students bring to this course. Therefore, assignments are flexible, enabling you to focus on topics of interest and work on projects that connect to your areas of expertise and professional goals. Specifically, this course will examine theories, methodologies, and ideologies that undergird health science writing with an eye towards both critique and imitation of scientific writing styles. Through readings and class discussion we will consider genres such as health narratives, health research articles, and health education materials, analyzing how writing strategies change in relation to professional, patient, and public audiences. Meanwhile, assignments will give you an opportunity to reflect on your personal experiences with healthcare communication, analyze and research a type of communication that interests you, and consider your goals for the future. Overall, the course is designed to provide you with practice in a range of written, oral, and visual communication while improving your ability to both produce and critique various modes of writing in health and medicine.

HCDE 548: Art Worlds of STS

Daniela Rosner
Days, times, and location TBD

The class reads across works—essays, exhibition catalogs, zines, and book excerpts—that bring artistic materials, practices, and performances in conversation with science and technology inquiries. Readings are selectively coupled with design experiments that engage alternative histories of labor, demarcations of knowledge, and forms of political possibility connected with traditions of discovery and innovation.

LSJ 491 D: History and Politics of International Environmental Law (5 credits)

Sebastián Rubiano-Galvis
Day, time, and room TBA

This course will critically review the history and politics of the legal architectures governing global environmental problems since the early twentieth century, including migratory species, biodiversity conservation, wildlife trade, climate change, oceans, pollution, and waste. Each week, we will discuss the background, science, negotiations, and sociopolitical and environmental context of a critical international environmental treaty such as CITES, the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement, the Convention of Biological Diversity, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and the new plastics treaty, while also learning about each treaty’s main legal provisions. Besides reading some of the treaties’ texts, we will discuss various works from international environmental law, global environmental politics, environmental history, science and technology studies, and political ecology. By the end of the quarter, students will be capable of critically assessing international environmental law’s origins, possibilities, and limitations to protect the global environment and deliver environmental justice.