Science & Technology Studies—Courses
Please note that not every course listed is offered each year and that students should consult the following sources for current course offerings:
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
STS-1003. Science, Technology and Society I
Science and technology are powerful forces in society today and come with a vast and complicated array of social and ethical issues. In order to make the best decisions about the future, it is important to have some understanding of what science and technology are and how they both influence and are influenced by society, and also to engage in thoughtful analysis of the issues that arise for science and technology. These goals will be achieved by focusing on scientific and technological developments in two main areas: health and medicine, and the natural environment.
STS-1403. Science, Technology and War
This course explores the development of modern techniques, technologies, and social systems for the purposes of making war. It also asks how wars change societies, technologically, socially, and structurally. We will pay attention to technology and changes in military strategy, but we will also look at non-combatants as users of technology.
STS-1503. Principles of Biology I (BIOL)
This course introduces students to the study of life. Topics include the scientific method, biological molecules, cell structure and function, energy flow, respiration, and photosynthesis.
STS-1513. Principles of Biology II (BIOL)
This course examines mitosis, meiosis, and genetics. Surveys the structure, function, and evolution of the kingdoms of life. Discusses the basics of ecology, culminating in ecological interactions and the impact of humans on the planet.
STS-1613. Everyday Chemistry (CHEM)
Introduces students to chemistry through the examination of the various roles that chemical elements and reactions play in our everyday lives. Topics could include the role of oxygen in combustion and the growth of living organisms, the formation of water molecules, and the role of carbon-based and organic molecules in fuels, food, and everyday objects.
STS-1713. Science, Technology and the Earth (GEOL)
The course introduces various elements of basic science using the Earth as its laboratory. Earth Science is well suited for this purpose. Topics are varied and include: the origin of the Earth; gravity, density and seismic waves and what they can tell us about the Earth; physical properties of minerals and what they can tell us about atomic structure; energy sources; water resources; wastes; life in the context of creationism and evolution. Lectures are augmented by online and hands-on exercises and a self-lead fieldtrip.
STS-2103. Science, Technology and Society II
This course is designed to introduce students to social and environmental problems raised by science and technology. Specific topics may vary from section to section. Past topics have included the genetic basis for human intelligence, new reproductive technologies, and the politics of fisheries science. The aim of this course is to prepare students to enter into debate over key issues by introducing them to scientific research, technology, legal, and political issues arising from them. Prerequisite: STS 1003.
STS-2123. Food, Science & Sustainability
This course explores the relationships in our society among science, technology, and food by examining the ways that technology and scientific knowlege have altered food, its production, and cultural attitudes to it.
STS-2243. Science and Technology in World History: From Pre-History to 1543
Examines the transformation of civilizations around the world by technologies such as stone tools, catapults, hydraulic engineering, metallurgy, and gunpowder. Also examines the growth of the abstract, theoretical sciences of astronomy, mathematics, and medicine in various regions including China, the Americas, Egypt and Greece. Aims to understand the social, political, economic, and religious consequences of science and technology from the Paleolithic Era to the mid-16th century.
STS-2253. Science and Technology in World History: From 1543 to the Present
Examines the transformation of civilizations around the world by technologies such as steam engines, electricity, airplanes, and nuclear bombs. Also examines the development and impact of new scientific theories of universal gravitation, evolution, genetics, and bio-engineering. Aims to understand the social, political, economic, and religious consequences of science and technology from the mid-16th century to the present.
STS-2303. Natural Disasters
This course focuses on various forms of natural disaster that affect human populations. The science of the physical processes involved will be addressed and the human impact of the processes will be illustrated with case studies. Disaster preparedness at various local scales for various types of natural phenomena will also be discussed. Lectures will be accompanied by group activities and a group presentation of a chosen case study.
STS-2313. Energy and Society
This course examines energy systems (oil, gas, coal, hydroelectric, nuclear, and renewable) both historically and in the contemporary world, in terms of environmental and economic impacts, theories of technological change in their creation, deployment,and decommissioning, as well as public policy issues.
STS-2403. Science, Technology and War
This course explores the development of modern techniques, technologies, and social systems for the purposes of making war. It also asks how wars change societies, technologically, socially, and structurally. We will pay attention to technology and changes in military strategy, but we will also look at non-combatants as users of technology. Credit cannot be obtained for both STS 1403 and STS 2403.
STS-2413. Science, Technology and Innovation
This course examines the field of science and technology studies (STS) with a focus on science and technological-based innovation, historically and in the contemporary world. The course will offer students an opportunity to critcally evaluate theories of technological change, and science and technology in globalization, and the post-modern economy. Students will also be expected to critically discuss implications for public policies in the areas of research and development, science and technology, and innovation. No pre-requisites required.
STS-2503. History of Disease
This course studies the impact of disease outbreaks on human populations and on economic, social, intellectual, religious, and political aspects of life from ancient times to the present.
STS-2513. Energy and Society
This course examines energy systems (oil, gas, coal, hydroelectric, nuclear, and renewable) both historically and in the contemporary world, in terms of environmental and economic impacts, theories of technological change in their creation, deployment, and decommissioning, as well as public policy issues.
STS-2603. Animals: Rights, Consciousness, and Experimentation
This course is an introduction to the scientific, legal, philosophical, and political debates over animal rights, animal consciousness, and animal experimentation.
STS-2703. History of Life Sciences
This course examines the historical background and development of the life sciences from the ancient Greek world to the present. Particular attention will be focused on the fields of biology, ecology, medicine and genetics.
STS-2803. Controversies in the Earth and Environmental Sciences
The Earth is affected by human activities which may be motivated by financial benefit, societal needs, or political goals. This course serves to introduce some of the more controversial issues that face the environment. The topics will vary according to class interests, but could include: the banning of DDT, mining space resources, nuclear energy and wastes, disputed water resources, population control measures, exploiting resources in wildlife refuges, and the value of space exploration. Traditional lectures will be accompanied by student group presentations and debates on both sides of each chosen issue. Basic research training will be developed.
STS-2903. The Politics of Science
This course introduces students to the many ways in which science interacts with political interests. This includes the ways in which political considerations from outside of science and elected officials influence the development of science. It also includes the ways in which political interests from within science itself control the development of science and how scientific concerns often guide the development of public policies made by politicians.
STS-3003. Scientific Reasoning
This course provides students with the tools needed to pursue research in Science and Technology Studies. The course will typically cover the basic elements of a traditional conceptual framework used by scientists to describe their work, including the concepts of prediction, testing, theoretical models, and scientific change over time, as well as the basic elements of alternative theoretical frameworks. Some mathematical content. Prerequisite: at least 9 credit hours in STS or permission of the instructor. 3 credit hours.
STS-3063. Historical Perspectives on Science and Religion
Examines the complex interactions between Western science and the Judeo-Christian religious tradition. Primary focus is on their historical relations in ancient, medieval and early modern thought to reveal how variable and complex these interactions have been, characterized at different times by conflict, cooperation, separation, understanding, misunderstanding, dialogue, and alienation. Prerequisite: STS 2243.
STS-3103. Science, Technology and Society III
This course is intended for students wishing to major in STS and develops an integrative understanding of the origins, dynamics, and consequences of science and technology in past and contemporary societies. Pre-requisite: STS 2103.
STS-3163. Contemporary Perspectives on Science and Religion
This course examines the recent debates over the relation between science and religion. A resurgence of interest in these debates has been sparked by developments in the sciences, particularly in physics and genetics, as well as by a newly-emerging understanding of what science is. The central questions include whether science and religion are compatible and whether recent developments in the sciences give new answers to religious and theological questions. Readings will represent all sides of these debates. Prerequisite: STS 2253.
STS-3203. Science, Technology and Nature
Examines the historical connections between society and nature by studying how science and technology, from the time of the ancient Mesopotamians to the present, have influenced how the natural world has been both perceived and used. Topics include: transition from sacred to secular views of nature, medieval technologies and land-use, artistic representations of nature, the scientific revolution and the utility of nature, the 17th-century mechanical philosophy of nature, the 18th-century Romantic culture of nature, impact of industrialization.
STS-3303. Sex, Science & Gender
This course examines how scientific research, in the late 19th and 20th centuries, has shaped common conceptions of sex behavior and how this scientific knowledge has also been shaped by cultural conceptions of gender roles and normal behavior.
STS-3503. Feminist Critiques of Science
This course is an introduction to the feminist literature on science, technology, and mathematics. Topics will include the possibility that a new science based on feminist principles might be qualitatively different from modern science. Related topics include the role played by values in science, the relation between pure scientific research and technology (especially military technology), the possibility that there might be a feminist alternative to classical mathematics and logic, and whether young women and men with feminist beliefs should be encouraged to become scientists (given the close connection between science and military technology). Readings will represent a range of different feminist perspectives on each of these questions, and we will examine the arguments for and against each of these views. Prerequisite: at least 9 credit hours in STS or permission of the instructor.
STS-3533. Science and Scientific Knowledge (SOCI)
This course examines the study of science and scientific knowledge from a sociological perspective. It focuses on the effort of the Edinburgh School to provide a materialist resolution to the debate between positivist and relativist epistemologies.
STS-3563. Philosophy of Science (PHIL)
This course will examine science from the perspective of philosophy. Topics will include the historical relation between science and philosophy, the differences between the social and the physical sciences, the nature of scientific change in history, the role of values in science, the reality of 'theoretical' objects of science, and feminist alternatives to traditional scientific research. Examples will be drawn from both the physical and the social sciences. Prerequisite: at least 9 credit hours in STS or permission of the instructor.
STS-3803. Space Exploration
This course presents a historical review of the exploration of space, discusses the benefits/problems associated with exploration, as well assessing how space exploration has changed society. The challenges that need to be overcome to continue exploration will be probed, and an introduction to the past and future technologies that have been/could be used to explore space are introduced. Controversial issues regarding terra-forming other planets, extracting resources from planets, asteroids or the moon, and the jurisdiction over these bodies are explored. The course is delivered predominantly via lecture, with some Socratic debates, student presentations, and self-directed research projects.
STS-4006. Honours Thesis
Students in their fourth year of the Honours Programme in Science and Technology Studies will register for this course and receive credit for it upon successful completion of their honours thesis.
STS-4103. Independent Study
Special courses in topics not normally covered in regular course offerings in Science and Technology Studies. Students work closely with a faculty member on a project involving independent research. Approval must be given by the by Director.