Postgraduate Course: Politics of Science and Technology (PGSP11022)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course aims to extend and deepen students= critical awareness of science and technology as social activities, by examining a variety of ways in which politics are present, and exploring some of the issues this raises. Two cross-cutting themes run through the course & governance and expertise & reflecting the fact that modern societies are characterised by a heterogeneous array of experts and decision-making institutions on which citizens are dependent. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | Room 106, OSH. | 1-11 | | | 10:00 - 13:00 | | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course students will have demonstrated through written work, oral presentations and other contributions in class, that they
have a substantive knowledge and understanding of a selection of important political and policy issues concerning science and technology, and of the contending viewpoints and claims on these issues, across a range of different science and technology areas;
can identify and characterise key theoretical approaches to understanding political and policy issues concerning science and technology - particularly in explaining the role of expertise and developments in governance;
can identify advantages, problems and implications of these theoretical approaches, and can deploy concepts and insights from them to selected issues;
can critically evaluate contributions to academic and public debates on these issues and these approaches;
can construct and adequately support with appropriate material an argument on selected political and policy issues concerning science and technology;
have developed their skills - in finding and using arguments and information;
- in critically evaluating such material; and
- in essay writing and seminar presentation.
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Assessment Information
This course is assessed through one assignment: an essay of 3500/4000 words.
The essay should address a topic and question to be agreed with the convenor. If you have trouble finding material for the essay, or are otherwise in doubt, ask the convenor or one of the lecturers.
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Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Week 1: Introduction: Politics and Expertise
Week 2: Controversy and Boundary Work
Week 3: Public Understanding of S&T
Week 4: Public Engagement in S&T
Week 5: The Equality and Diversity Challenge in S&T
Week 6: S&T Policy: National Systems of Innovation
Week 7: Science, Politics, Sex and Nature
Week 8: Big Technologies: Nuclear and Space
Week 9: The State and Environmental Regulation
Week 10: Rethinking the Politics of Technology |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Key books for the course (and the book review):
Brown, N & A Webster (2004) New Medical Technologies and Society, Cambridge: Polity,
Collingridge, D & C Reeve (1986) Science Speaks to Power: The Role of Experts in Policy Making, London: Pinter
Collins, H & T Pinch (1998) The Golem at Large, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Feenberg, A, TJ Misa & P Brey (2003) Modernity and Technology, Cambridge MA: MIT Press
Irwin, A & B Wynne (eds)(1996) Misunderstanding Science? The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jasanoff, S (1990) The Fifth Branch: Science Advisers as Policymakers, Harvard University Press
Lundvall, B-A (ed)(1992) National Systems of Innovation, London: Pinter
Lyall, C and J Tait (eds)(2005) New Modes of Governance: Developing an Integrated Policy Approach to Science, Technology, Risk and the Environment, Ashgate
Nowotny, H, P Scott & M Gibbons (2001) Re-thinking Science: Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty, Oxford: Polity Press
Sørensen, KH & R Williams (eds)(2002) Shaping Technology, Guiding Policy: Concepts, Spaces and Tools, Edward Elgar: Aldershot [EUML T14.5 Sha. And SHORT LOAN T14.5 Sha.]
Thompson, WB et al (eds)(2002) Controlling Technology, Buffalo NY: Prometheus Books
Wajcman, J (2004) TechnoFeminism, Cambridge: Polity
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
The course is taught in one session per week, consisting of a lecture followed by a student-led seminar. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Christopher Lawless
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Madina Howard
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: |
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