Science & Technology Studies (STS)Arts and Sciences

Showing 39 results.

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

STS 1123

This seminar explores the ways in which Technology and Society shape one another and provides the opportunity to write extensively about this mutual shaping. Topics vary by section. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • Topic: FWS: The Politics of Sound

  • 18362 STS 1123   SEM 101

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

STS 1126

This seminar explores the ways in which Science and Society shape one another and provides the opportunity to write extensively about this mutual shaping. Topics vary by section. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • Topic: FWS: Lives on Trial: Histories of Biomedicine

  • 18363 STS 1126   SEM 101

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

STS 1127

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 ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 18364 STS 1127   SEM 101

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

STS 1201

This course investigates the ethical, legal, and social foundations of information. Through lectures, readings, and independent projects, the class will learn to analyze and engage key challenges ranging ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: INFO 1200

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  9949 STS 1201   LEC 001

STS 1941

How did the approaches to knowledge of nature that developed in medieval and early-modern Europe create an enterprise that associated the practical manipulation of nature with scientific truth? This course ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 1941HIST 1941

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9821 STS 1941   LEC 001

STS 2011

This course introduces some central ideas in the field of S&TS. It is aimed at students from any background who are challenged to think more critically about what counts as scientific knowledge and ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: SOC 2100

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8027 STS 2011   LEC 001

  •  8029 STS 2011   DIS 201

  •  8030 STS 2011   DIS 202

  •  8260 STS 2011   DIS 203

STS 2061

Politicians, scientists, and citizens worldwide face many environmental issues today, but they are neither simple nor straightforward. Moreover, there are many ways to understand how we have, do, and could ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: BSOC 2061PHIL 2460

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 17013 STS 2061   LEC 001

  • First-Year students not permitted to enroll into this course.

  • 17016 STS 2061   DIS 203

  • 17017 STS 2061   DIS 204

  • 17340 STS 2061   DIS 205

  • 17341 STS 2061   DIS 206

STS 2071

This course offers an introductory survey of the history of medicine (principally in Europe and the United States) from classical antiquity to the early twentieth century. Using a combination of both primary ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: BSOC 2071HIST 2710

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8262 STS 2071   LEC 001

  •  8264 STS 2071   DIS 201

  •  8266 STS 2071   DIS 202

  •  8268 STS 2071   DIS 203

  •  8270 STS 2071   DIS 204

  •  8443 STS 2071   DIS 205

STS 2231

In this seminar, we will explore the role of energy as a force in the driving of history.  With the widespread harnessing of fossil fuels in the nineteenth century as our pivot point, we will consider ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 2131

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 16366 STS 2231   SEM 101

STS 2451

Bioethics is the study of ethical problems brought about by advances in the medical field.  Questions we'll discuss may include:  Is it morally permissible to advance a patient's death, at his or her request, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: PHIL 2455

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 19095 STS 2451   LEC 001

STS 2751

As technologies and algorithms that can autonomously take in information, make decisions, and act on those decisions become more and more prevalent, questions arise as to the moral and ethical aspects ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 17942 STS 2751   LEC 001

STS 2761

Traffic lights, elevators, and recycling bins seem rather boring and irrelevant. Yet, while not usually on our minds when thinking about governance and regulation, these seemingly mundane technologies ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SOC 2760

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17447 STS 2761   LEC 001

STS 2871

Evolution is the central concept in biology. This course examines evolution as a science and places it in an historical context. Lectures focus on descent with modification, the nature of natural selection, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: BIOEE 2070

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6789 STS 2871   LEC 001

  • Intended for students with no background in college biology. May not be taken for credit after BIOEE 1780 Does not meet evolutionary biology requirement for biological sciences major.

  •  6790 STS 2871   DIS 201

  •  6791 STS 2871   DIS 202

  •  6792 STS 2871   DIS 203

STS 2921

Explores the history of information technology from the 1830s to the present by considering the technical and social history of telecommunications (telegraph and the telephone), radio, television, computers, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 16948 STS 2921   LEC 001

  • 16949 STS 2921   DIS 201

  • 18512 STS 2921   DIS 202

  • 18513 STS 2921   DIS 203

STS 3011

Biology and biotechnology are major influences on modern life. In addition, socio-political and historical conditions have shaped biological research and its applications in medicine, agriculture, environmental ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 3011

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  6456 STS 3011   LEC 001

  • First-Year students not admitted into course.

STS 3020

How to write about science, technology, and medicine for the media. Writing assignments focus on writing news for web sites, blogs, magazines, and other media. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one laboratory. Combined with: COMM 3020

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8252 STS 3020   LEC 001

  • Not open to freshmen. Prerequisite: college-level writing course.

  •  8253 STS 3020   LAB 401

STS 3121

Sound as a medium has been neglected not only in the sciences but also in social sciences and humanities. We will engage with new emerging work in sound studies by addressing specific locations and activities ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: MUSIC 3432

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 17272 STS 3121   SEM 101

STS 3311

Environmental governance is defined as the assemblage of institutions that regulate society-nature interactions and shape environmental outcomes across a range of spatial and temporal scales.  Institutions, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: BSOC 3311DSOC 3311NTRES 3311

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  8072 STS 3311   LEC 001

  • Enrollment limited to: juniors, seniors, or by permission of instructor.

  •  8073 STS 3311   DIS 201

  •  8074 STS 3311   DIS 202

  •  8075 STS 3311   DIS 203

  •  8207 STS 3311   DIS 204

STS 3460

The body is often taken for granted as the material substrate for culture -- its physicality the purview of science and its meaning the purview of social studies. This course examines a range of texts ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ANTHR 3465BSOC 3460

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16817 STS 3460   LEC 001

STS 3651

Psychoanalysis considers the human being not as an object of treatment, but as a subject who is called upon to elaborate an unconscious knowledge about what is disrupting her life, through analysis of ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 17981 STS 3651   LEC 001

STS 3811

This course will cover various topics in the philosophy of science. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: PHIL 3810

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6713 STS 3811   LEC 001

  •  6784 STS 3811   DIS 201

  •  6785 STS 3811   DIS 202

STS 3911

This course reviews the changing political relations between science, technology, and the state in America from 1960 to the present. It focuses on policy choices involving science and technology in different ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AMST 3911GOVT 3091

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 17209 STS 3911   LEC 001

STS 3991

More information and applications available in 306 Rockefeller Hall. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7701 STS 3991   IND 602

    • TBA
    • Dear, P

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7702 STS 3991   IND 603

    • TBA
    • Hilgartner, S

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7703 STS 3991   IND 604

    • TBA
    • Kline, R

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7704 STS 3991   IND 605

    • TBA
    • Leuenberger, C

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7705 STS 3991   IND 606

    • TBA
    • Lewenstein, B

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7706 STS 3991   IND 607

    • TBA
    • Lynch, M

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7707 STS 3991   IND 608

    • TBA
    • Pinch, T

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7708 STS 3991   IND 609

    • TBA
    • Prentice, R

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7709 STS 3991   IND 610

    • TBA
    • Pritchard, S

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7710 STS 3991   IND 611

    • TBA
    • Rossiter, M

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7711 STS 3991   IND 612

    • TBA
    • Sengers, P

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7712 STS 3991   IND 613

    • TBA
    • Seth, S

STS 4122

The power of a name is sometimes as great as that of an idea.  This course will study how Darwin became, then and now, an icon rather than just a Victorian naturalist.  We will look at writings of Darwin ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 4122HIST 4122

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 16398 STS 4122   SEM 101

STS 4231

Why are some technologies such as cars and computers associated with men and masculinity? How did vacuums and sewing machines become gendered female? How do technological artifacts and systems constitute, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: FGSS 4231HIST 4231

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 17202 STS 4231   SEM 101

STS 4303

Biotechnology is a broad term for the tools used to alter living organisms for human purposes. Genetic engineering (recombinant DNA technology) is one class of methods used in biotechnology. Private sector ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •  4694 STS 4303   LEC 001

    • TR Warren Hall 401
    • Davidson Evanega, S

      Davies, P

      Herring, R

      Hobbs, P

      Thies, J

STS 4501

This seminar investigates some of the university's old and often neglected teaching collections. Focus is on those collections that consist of replicas (e.g. musical instruments, Rau plow collection, plaster ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 18193 STS 4501   SEM 101

STS 4631

This course explores the organization of cultural and scientific knowledge in the form of so-called "encyclopedias", beginning with Pliny the Elder's Natural History and tracing its development in later ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 17947 STS 4631   SEM 101

STS 4951

Explores how the human and social sciences have provided the knowledge and categories we use to make sense of human beings and their behavior. Looking across a range of disciplines-including sociology, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8968 STS 4951   SEM 101

STS 4991

Students must register for 4 credits each semester (4991-4992) for a total of 8 credits. After the first semester, students receive a letter grade of "R"; a letter grade for both semesters is submitted ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 4991HE 4991

  • 4 Credits Multi-Term

  •  9613 STS 4991   RSC 701

    • TBA
    • Seth, S

STS 6031

Hacktivism, cyber-crime, cyber-espionage, and cyber-war have become worrisome for individuals, corporations, and nation-states. This course analyses cyber conflict as technopolitics, showing how the specific ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 16892 STS 6031   SEM 101

STS 6261

A seminar on the global historiography of technology. Typical topics include industrialization; military science and technology; science and engineering in corporate settings; engineering as a profession; ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 6190

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16806 STS 6261   SEM 101

STS 6311

In this Graduate seminar we will discuss the nature, politics and basic assumptions underlying qualitative research. We will examine a selection of qualitative methods ranging from interviewing, oral history, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SOC 6310

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 18181 STS 6311   SEM 101

STS 6321

Rather than analyze the social impact of technology upon society, this course investigates how society gets inside technology. In other words, is it possible that the very design of technologies embody ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SOC 6320

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17212 STS 6321   SEM 101

STS 6460

This course examines a range of texts that treat the body as the subject and object of cultural, technological, political, and ethical processes. Students investigate the cultivation of physical and social ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ANTHR 6465BSOC 6460

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17332 STS 6460   SEM 101

STS 6811

Advanced discussion of some problem or problems in the philosophy of science. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: PHIL 6810

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • Topic: Philosophical Naturalism and Its Critics

  •  8748 STS 6811   SEM 101

STS 6991

Applications and information are available in 306 Rockefeller Hall. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7688 STS 6991   IND 602

    • TBA
    • Dear, P

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7689 STS 6991   IND 603

    • TBA
    • Hilgartner, S

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7690 STS 6991   IND 604

    • TBA
    • Kline, R

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7691 STS 6991   IND 605

    • TBA
    • Leuenberger, C

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7692 STS 6991   IND 606

    • TBA
    • Lewenstein, B

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7693 STS 6991   IND 607

    • TBA
    • Lynch, M

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7694 STS 6991   IND 608

    • TBA
    • Pinch, T

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7695 STS 6991   IND 609

    • TBA
    • Prentice, R

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7696 STS 6991   IND 610

    • TBA
    • Pritchard, S

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7697 STS 6991   IND 611

    • TBA
    • Rossiter, M

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7698 STS 6991   IND 612

    • TBA
    • Sengers, P

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7699 STS 6991   IND 613

    • TBA
    • Seth, S

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7700 STS 6991   IND 614

    • TBA
    • Vogel, K

STS 7111

Provides students with a foundation in the field of science and technology studies. Using classic works as well as contemporary exemplars, seminar participants chart the terrain of this new field. Topics ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  5879 STS 7111   SEM 101

STS 7631

This course explores the organization of cultural and scientific knowledge in the form of so-called "encyclopedias", beginning with Pliny the Elder's Natural History and tracing its development in later ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none
  • 17948 STS 7631   SEM 101