Unit Catalogue

The unit will introduce students to contemporary debates about the nature and social consequences of science and technology. Our enquiry will focus on two issues. The first is the problem posed by the challenge of understanding the nature of science and its relationship to human technology. The second issue is the challenge of evaluating the social consequences of science and technology. The unit will examine critical societal problems posed by recent technoscientific innovations, such as the need to decolonise science, address environmental crises like climate change, and create ethical forms of artificial intelligence and social media. To address these issues, students will review influential theories of technoscientific phenomena and apply these theories to critique the ways in which technoscientific processes are radically changing both human and more-than-human worlds.