STS 1127

Last Updated

  • Schedule of Classes - January 19, 2016 6:14PM EST
  • Course Catalog - January 19, 2016 6:21PM EST

STS 1127
FWS: Risk and Society: Knowledge, Technology and Politics

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2015-2016.

Hurricanes. Guns. Ebola. Financial meltdowns. Contaminated food. Climate change. Cyber warfare. We live in a hazardous world of uncertainty, surrounded by claims about risks, some sounding the alarm, some seeking to reassure. Scientists, engineers, and managers try to measure and model the risks embedded in complex systems, hoping to improve our understanding and guide decisions. This seminar will consider risk from the perspective of the social sciences. How do individuals, organizations, and societies produce knowledge about hazards? How do they decide which threats deserve their attention? How do conflicting viewpoints about risk shape technology and politics? We will examine controversies in public health, disaster management, finance, and emerging technologies. Students will gain practice writing short analytic papers, Op/Ed pieces, fictional narratives, and personal reflections.

When Offered Fall.

Satisfies Requirement First-Year Writing Seminar.

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 18364 STS 1127   SEM 101

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  • For more information about First-year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/knight_institute