Catalogue 2024-2025 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Science, Technology and Society Program
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Director: José Perillán;
Steering Committee: Abigail Baird (Psychological Science), Elizabeth Howe Bradley (President), Leroy Cooper (Biology), Abigail Coplin (Sociology and Science, Technology and Society), David J. Esteban (Biology), Kenneth Livingston (Cognitive Science), José Perillán (Physics and Astronomy), Nancy Jo Pokrywka (Biology), Claire Sagana (Political Science), Jill S. Schneidermana (Earth Science), Catherine Tan (Sociology), Christopher White (Religion);
Participating Faculty: Alicia Atwoodb (Economics), Benjamin Ho (Economics), Jamie Kellyb (Philosophy), Jennifer Kennella (Biology), Osman Nemli (Philosophy), Leonard Nevarez (Sociology), Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosaab (Philosophy), Christie VanHorne (Science, Technology and Society).
a On leave 2024/25, first semester
b On leave 2024/25, second semester
ab On leave 2024/25
The multidisciplinary program in Science, Technology, and Society is designed to enable students to pursue three objectives: a) to understand the central role of science and technology in contemporary society; b) to examine how science and technology reflect their social, political, philosophical, economic and cultural contexts; and c) to explore the human, ethical and policy implications of current and emerging technologies.
Students interested in the program are urged to plan for declaration as early as possible in their college careers. First-year students and sophomores should talk with the director concerning courses to be taken in the first and sophomore years.
Major
Science, Technology and Society: I. Introductory
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STS 105 - 20th Century Revolutions in Physics Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as PHYS 105 ) Lord Kelvin, one of the most distinguished physicists of the 19th century, is famous for his 1900 proclamation: “There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now.” In the fall of that same year Max Planck provided the spark that would become the revolutionary fire from which a new physics was born. The multiple revolutions in physics that proceeded Kelvin’s proclamation are the subject of this class. We examine the developments of Quantum Theory, Special and General Theories of Relativity, and Modern Cosmology studying each in its proper historical context. From both primary and secondary sources we learn the basic concepts that became the fabric of today’s physics. Along the way, we are sure to unearth both the undeniable impacts these discoveries have had on society and the contingency surrounding the nature of these scientific revolutions. José Perillán.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 110 - Interactions among Public Health, Political Instability and Environmental Degradation
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
(Same as CLCS 110 ) For the first six weeks, we meet once per week to discuss readings and to hear from faculty providing different perspectives on these issues, using Haiti as a model. During this period, students plan for independent projects to be undertaken during the second six weeks of this intensive experience. Projects may be literature-based or may be project-based and focus on a region of the world or even more locally. Towards the end of the semester, possibly to coincide with the Vassar Haiti Project’s annual Art and Soul Fundraiser, students present their projects. Kathleen Susman.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: INT -
STS 131 - Genetic Engineering: Basic Principles and Ethical Questions
1 unit(s)
This course includes a consideration of: 1) basic biological knowledge about the nature of the gene, the genetic code, and the way in which the genetic code is translated into the phenotype of the organism; 2) how this basic, scientific knowledge has led to the development of a new technology known as “genetic engineering”; 3) principles and application of the technology itself; 4) the ethical, legal, and economic issues which have been raised by the advent of this technology. Among the issues discussed are ethical questions such as the nature of life itself, the right of scientists to pursue research at will, and the role of the academy to regulate the individual scientific enterprise. Jennifer Kennell.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 137 - Unpacking Climate Change (Un)Certainty
1 unit(s)
The dissonance between the scientific and public understandings of uncertainty can manifest in many ways, but becomes most obvious during scientific controversies. As of late there seems to be a rash of scientific controversies dominating public discourse on all sides of the political landscape. We are seeing an Orwellian emergence of a “post-fact” politics that has normalized the denial of scientific evidence. Whether someone rejects the incontrovertible evidence for anthropogenic climate change or dismisses the numerous studies showing no causal links between childhood vaccinations and autism, it seems that consensus driven scientific evidence and authority are being regularly dismissed on the public stage. In this Grand Challenge course, we use the controversy surrounding the science of climate change as a way of examining the various ways people engage with uncertainty and the impact this has on the erosion of scientific authority. Although this course is firmly rooted in STS frameworks examining the social, political, and economic dimensions of science, it also involves some light quantitative analysis. Although students do not learn statistical methods, they are introduced to concepts like bell curves, standard deviation, and p-hacking. The goal is for students to become more literate and reflexive in how they engage scientific controversies like climate change. As with all scientific controversies, answers are never clear cut. Yet, the messiness isn’t always grounded in the science itself. By examining the social dimensions of this controversy students begin to identify and navigate other rhetorical forces at play. José Perillán.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 146 - The Culture and Chemistry of Cuisine
1 unit(s)
(Same as CHEM 146 ) A basic biological need of all organisms is the ability to acquire nutrients from the environment; humans accomplish this in many creative ways. Food is an important factor in societies that influences population growth, culture, migration, and conflict. Humans discovered the science and art of food preparation, topics that are explored in this course, not in a single step but rather as an evolving process that continues to this day. This course develops the basic chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology of food preparation; explores the biochemical basis of certain nutritional practices; covers social and political aspects of foods throughout world history. It covers controversies like genetically modified organisms, the production of high-fructose corn syrup, and the historic role of food commodities such as salt, rum, and cod in the world economy. Course topics are explored through lectures, student presentations, and readings from both popular and scientific literature. The course includes a few laboratories to explore the basic science behind food preparation. Miriam Rossi.
One 75-minute periods; one 4-hour laboratory.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 150 - EMT Training Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
This course provides training as required for state certification as an emergency medical technician. The course is taught by state-certified instructors. Students must attend all sessions to qualify for a certificate. The course meets weekly through both semesters, with one or two Saturday sessions each semester. Observation times in the emergency department and with an ambulance are required. Upon completion of the Vassar EMT course, it is expected that the students will serve on the Vassar EMT squad. Kelly Kohler.
Not open to Seniors.
Yearlong course 150-STS 151 .
Two 3-hour periods.
Course Format: INT -
STS 151 - EMT Training Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
This course provides training as required for state certification as an emergency medical technician. The course is taught by state-certified instructors. Students must attend all sessions to qualify for a certificate. The course meets weekly through both semesters, with one or two Saturday sessions each semester. Observation times in the emergency department and with an ambulance are required. Upon completion of the Vassar EMT course, it is expected that the students will serve on the Vassar EMT squad. Kelly Kohler.
Not open to Seniors.
Yearlong course STS 150 -151.
Two 3-hour periods.
Course Format: INT -
STS 162 - Science Writing as Radical Amazement
1 unit(s)
At its core, science is an attempt to understand the complex, mysterious, hidden, and novel aspects of the world; understanding of science can develop a profound sense of wonder and amazement. Science writing makes this sense of radical amazement available to a general audience. This course explores the experience of wonder generated by reading about science, medicine, and the natural world and will allow students to develop their capacity to write about these fields. This course explores various genres of writing about science for a general audience, including narrative, personal essay, reporting, and verse, with a focus on the emotional and spiritual impacts of science. Alison Keimowitz.
Open only to first-year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 172 - Microbial Wars
1 unit(s)
(Same as BIOL 172 ) This course explores our relationship with microbes that cause disease. Topics including bioterrorism, vaccinology, smallpox eradication, influenza pandemics, antibiotic resistance, and emerging diseases are discussed to investigate how human populations are affected by disease, how and why we alter microorganisms intentionally or unintentionally, and how we study disease causing microbes of the past and present. The use of new technologies in microbiology that allow us to turn harmful pathogens into helpful medical or industrial tools are also discussed. David Esteban.
Not offered in 2024/25.
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STS 189 - Trances, Visions, Meditative States and Altered States of Consciousness Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as RELI 189 ) This course introduces students to ways of interpreting trances, visions, religious experiences, peak experiences and other altered states of consciousness. Readings range from first-hand accounts written by mystics and visionaries to interpretations of unusual experiences by psychologists, theologians, anthropologists, reporters, writers, philosophers and neuroscientists. The course raises a number of questions that we consider during the semester, including—What are the best ways to describe or explain someone else’s anomalous/religious experience? How do we talk about experiences or behaviors that seem exotic, unhealthy, deviant or odd? Should we strive for “objective,” scientific knowledge or seek other ways of appreciating religious insight and experience? Can scientific methods or tests explain the insights that religious or spiritual people experience? In addition to understanding basic characteristics of different types of experiences we also address these and other controversial questions. Christopher White.
Open only to first-year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
Science, Technology and Society: II. Intermediate
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STS 200 - Conceptualizing STS: Theories and Practice Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
An introduction to the multidisciplinary study of contemporary science and technology through selected case studies and key texts representing the major perspectives and methods of analysis, including work by Thomas Kuhn, Robert Merton, Bruno Latour, Sandra Harding, Helen Longino, and Naomi Oreskes. Some of the issues include the concept of scientific revolution, the nature of “big science” and “high technology,” the sociology of scientific knowledge, the social construction of science and technology, the ethics of funding/owning science and technology, and feminist approaches to science and technology. Jose Perillan.
Prerequisite(s): One other Science, Technology and Science course.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 220 - Health Economics Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ECON 220 ) Applies theoretical and empirical tools of economics to problems of health and medical care delivery. The main focus of the course addresses how medical care is produced and financed, in both private and public sectors. Emphasis is on the US, and includes a comparison of the US health system to other countries’ health care systems. Alicia Atwood.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 102 . Students with a strong quantitative background may enroll with the instructor’s permission.
Two 75-minute periods.
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STS 221 - Medieval Science and Technology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as HIST 221 and MRST 221 ) Science and technology: the very words seem synonymous with “modernity.” Yet, crucial developments in scientific knowledge and application occurred during the Middle Ages, forming the foundation for the Scientific Revolution. This interdisciplinary course offers an introduction to science and technology in medieval Europe and the Mediterranean world, exploring the influence of classical, East Asian, and Arab learning, and the rise of empiricism and experimentation. Through readings, discussions, and hands-on activities, we examine developments in monasteries, universities, castles, and farms. Topics may include beer making, beekeeping, alchemy, siege warfare, watermills, astrology, plagues, and medicine. Nancy Biasha
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 222 - Bioethics and Human Reproduction Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Scientific and technological advances are revolutionizing the ways in which human beings can procreate. This has given rise to debates over the ethical use of these methods, and over whether and how law and public policy should regulate these procedures and recognize the family relationships created by their use. This course examines topics such as fertility treatments, the commodification of gametes and embryos, contraceptive development and use, genetic screening and genetic modification of embryos, genetic testing in establishing family rights and responsibilities, and human cloning. We examine issues surrounding the ethical use of these methods, and consider whether and how law and public policy should regulate these procedures and recognize the family relationships created by their use. Nancy Pokrywka.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 226 - Philosophy of Science Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as PHIL 226 ) The way scientific investigation works is more complex than what we are taught when we learn about the scientific method in school. What is scientific investigation, how does it work, and what makes it a good way to learn about the world? Philosophy of science aims at understanding and answering these questions. In this course, we investigate these concerns through the following questions: What is scientific reasoning, and how is it different from the reasoning we use outside of science, if it is? Does science discover objective truths about the world? Many of our past scientific theories have turned out to be wrong. Should we trust our current theories? Why do we accept one theory over another? How might science be biased, and what, if anything, can we do about it? How do the different sciences fit together, if they do? This course draws on historical and current scientific cases across biology, neuroscience, social science, and physics. Toward the end of the course, we turn our attention to a major, new scientific methodology and ask about its virtues and limitations. Is data analysis transforming the scientific landscape and pushing us toward a new scientific revolution? Kate Pendoley.
Prerequisite(s): One 100-level course in Philosophy.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 236 - Digital Lives
1 unit(s)
We begin with a brief history of dIgital technologies, the emergence of the Internet and its “invasion” by BigTech-controlled commercial and social platforms. We examine the automation of work: from robotics to artificial intelligence (AI) with outcomes such as “Gigification” of employment, precarity as the new normal and a platform capitalism often driven by algorithmic management. We explore Silicon Valley generated technological solutionism and grapple with the question - will AI replace humans in a “work-less” world? We also look at “surveillance” capitalism that relies on data extraction-based business models, data profiling and targeted advertising. We assess the privacy, security and data related regulations and the issues relating to fairness and ethical AI. At the cultural level we focus on the contemporary age of distractions, especially the ecology of “New” Media: influencers, the attention economy, the “Metaverse”, dIsinformation and fake news, “virtual” addictions, and the loss of deep learning. We look at the impact of “digital’ on politics: social/ideological polarization, data-based political targeting, democratic backsliding, state repression and the rise of authoritarian/populist regimes. We also explore the fightback: from digital literacy to the broader movements to take the Internet “back”; the new unionism and struggle for legal protections.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 240 - The International Social Life of Science and Technology Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as SOCI 240 ) Technological development is not “simply a matter of advances in science and technology, but a product of complex entanglements among knowledge, technical capability, politics, and culture” (Jasanoff 2005, 290). This class examines the co-production of science, politics, and society by analyzing controversies tied to science, technology, and medicine in different international contexts. Using these international cases, we examine how science and technology shape—and are shaped by—structures of inequality, social identities, state’s governance strategies, and society’s counter-movements against the state. We also use this diverse array of global examples to introduce the major theoretical frameworks used by science and technology studies scholars. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the socio-politics of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, genetic manipulation and testing, nuclear energy and meltdown, environmental disaster, reproductive technologies, the population policy construction, genetically modified crops, the globalized pharmaceutical industry, and information and communication technologies. Abigail Coplin.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 245 - Medicine, Health and Diseases in East Asia
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 245 and HIST 245 ) From the globalization of acupuncture to the proliferation of biobanks to the fight against the deadly SARS virus, the history of East Asian medicine and society has been marked by promises and perils. Through examining the ways in which East Asians conceptualized medicine and the body in their fight against diseases from a myriad of sources, this course critically examines the persistence, transformation, and globalization of both “traditional medicine” and biomedicine in East Asia. Topics covered include the knowledge of nature as embedded in the changing categorization of pharmaceuticals, the contestation over vaccination and the definition of diseases, the construction of gender and sexuality in medicine, the importance of religion in healing, the legacies of colonialism in biopolitics and biotechnology, the development of healthcare systems, and the imaginations of Asian medicine in the West. Wayne Soon.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2024/25.
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STS 247 - Albert Einstein Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as HIST 247 ) This course explores the complex life and work of the iconic scientist of the 20th century. Using recent biographical studies and a wide range of original sources (in translation), Einstein’s revolutionary contributions to relativity and quantum mechanics, his role in Germany in the opposition to the rise of Nazi ideology and anti-Semitism, and his work as a political and social activist in the United States are examined. Students are encouraged to make use of Vassar’s Bergreen Collection of original Einstein manuscripts. José Perillán.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 249 - Global Science and Empire 1800-Present
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 249 and HIST 249 ) Why has science been considered a “tool of empire’? How has scientific knowledge shaped and been shaped by colonial experiences? How did Indigenous and local peoples variously participate in and resist encounters with colonial science? This course explores these questions as we survey the relationship between science and empire from the early nineteenth century to the present. Rather than take a comprehensive approach, students engage with a series of case studies from around the globe that touch on various scientific disciplines and practices–such as anthropological exhibitions across the British empire, American colonial medicine in the Philippines, scientific forestry in Japanese-occupied Korea and Taiwan, and mapping in postcolonial India–to learn how science has been used both for imperial control and as a means of envisioning postcolonial futures. Other major themes include scientific exploration; collecting and classifying; race, gender, and sexuality; Indigenous knowledge; postcolonial science; and, finally, the contemporary conversation around “decolonizing’ the sciences and scientific institutions. Throughout the course, students engage with visual, material, and textual sources, including visits to campus collections. Ashanti Shih.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 250 - Across Religious Boundaries: Understanding Differences
1 unit(s)
The study of a selected topic or theme in religious studies that cuts across the boundaries of particular religions, allowing opportunities for comparison as well as contrast of religious traditions, beliefs, values and practices. Christopher White.
Topic for 2024/25a: Ecospirituality and Planetary Consciousness. (Same as RELI 250 ) This course examines twentieth-century space exploration and emerging discourses about “one world,” planetary consciousness, the environment, and spirituality. It begins with the Apollo space technologies and how they produced a set of unexpected reflections about the earth and its place in the cosmos. That process began in 1968 when the Apollo 8 astronauts captured the now-famous “Earthrise” photograph of the Earth rising above the lunar surface. Seeing the earth from space for the first time led to a kind of “no frames, no boundaries” mysticism for many astronauts, who reported feeling awe that all humans lived together on a tiny, glittering, blue planet. This mysticism was taken up by many others in the wake of Apollo—by key figures in the counter-culture, new religious and spiritual figures, “Gaia” movement preachers and ecologists, cosmologists such as Carl Sagan, esoteric engineers at NASA such as Jack Parsons and many others convinced that technology had delivered a new era of planetary awareness and spiritual evolution. This course examines the history of the Apollo technologies, the cultural impact of these technologies, and the remarkable efflorescence of new planetary ideas and movements beginning in the 1960s. No prerequisites; all students welcome. Christopher White.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 252 - Health Inequalities and Activism Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 252 and SOCI 252 ) When comparing the 36 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United States spends twice the average on healthcare. However, the US ranks 28 in life expectancy, 33 in infant mortality, and last in obesity. In other words, Americans spend more on healthcare but live shorter and unhealthier lives. When examining US healthcare up close, there are significant disparities between sub-populations. For example, socioeconomic status (SES) is inversely associated with risk of disease, which means that having higher SES correlates with lower risk of disease. In the first half of this course, students investigate how race, gender, socio-economic status, and their intersections impact health disparities and inequalities. In the second half of this course, students examine collective responses to health inequalities and representation. Catherine Tan.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 255 - Medical Sociology Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as SOCI 255 ) The objective of this course is to introduce students to the central themes and topics of medical sociology, such as: the social model of illness, the profession of medicine, medicalization, clinical gaze, experiences of illness, contested illness, diagnosis, politics of prevention, cultural health capital, and social production of health disparities. How does something become “medical”? What does it mean to be ill? How does illness impact a person’s relationships and sense of self? How might a diagnosis work to stigmatize or validate? The significance of being ill (or of possessing a diagnosis) extends beyond the medical model of health—beyond clinical understandings of causation, treatment, and prevention. Disorders and diseases are socially and culturally dynamic. During this course, students investigate the broader social context in which issues of health and illness are embedded. They also address the social structures that shape the field of medicine and how different groups of people engage with and within this field. Finally, the course examines communities that have formed around illness (such as support groups) and considers how these groups shape identity, empower, and generate knowledge. Catherine Tan.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 264 - Controversies in Science, Technology & Religion
1 unit(s)
(Same as RELI 264 ) This course introduces students to new and controversial topics in the study of religion, science, technology and spirituality. We examine controversial issues such as evolution/creation, artificial intelligence, science fiction as spirituality, religious and secular views of the mind, issues in biomedical ethics such as cloning, the neurology of religious experience, technologically-mediated spirituality, pseudo-science and parapsychology. Christopher White.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 267 - Environmental Economics Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ECON 267 and ENST 267 ) This course examines environmental and natural resource issues from an economic perspective. Particular attention is given to the evidence and analysis presented at the UN climate negotiations and the recent history of climate accords and assesses the case for more drastic commitments. Particular attention is given this year to the evidence and analysis presented at to the UN Conference of the Parties (COP 26). The various possible policies to address the situation are analyzed in economic terms identifying those who gain by, and those who lose by these policies. The goal is for students to develop a framework for understanding environmental problems and then to learn how to analyze policy actions within that framework. Topics include the economics of externalities, free rider issues, global warming, air and water pollution, the loss of biodiversity, energy demand and technology, and natural resource extraction. David Kennett.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 102 or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 268 - Current and Emerging Issues in Public Health Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This course examines public health topics of current and emerging interest in both developed and developing nations. Selected topics include theories of justice and public health ethics, social determinants of health, health promotion and disease prevention, health care delivery, environmental problems, and the issues that are influencing and that may influence the health status of populations now and in the future. Contemporary case studies are used to examine and demonstrate the inter-relatedness of social justice, culture, politics, technology, and public health. Christie Van Horne
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 273 - The New Economy Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as SOCI 273 ) The new economy is, in one sense, a very old concern of sociology. Since the discipline’s 19th-c. origins, sociologists have asked how changes in material production and economic relations alter the ways that people live, work, understand their lives, and relate to one another. However, current interests in the new economy center upon something new: a flexible, “just in time” mode of industry and consumerism made possible by information technologies and related organizational innovations. The logic of this new economy, as well as its consequences for society, are the subject of this course. Topics include the evolving role of technology in economic globalization; the precarity of today’s workplaces and labor markets; the question of the “creative class”; digital divides in technology access, education, and lifestyles; and the cutting edges of consumerism. Leonard Nevarez.
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STS 277 - Feminist Approaches to Science and Technology
1 unit(s)
(Same as WFQS 277 ) In this course students examine the intersections of science and technology with the categories of gender, race, class, and sexuality. We explore the ways that science and technology help to construct these socio-cultural categories and how the constructions play out in society. Examples come from the history of science and technology, concerns about gender identity, health care, environmentalism, and equal opportunity in education and careers. Throughout the course, we ask how the social institution and power of science itself is affected by social categories. We also investigate alternative approaches to the construction of knowledge. Jill Schneiderman.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered 2024/25.
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STS 278 - Environmental Political Thought Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENST 278 and POLI 278 ) In the current, urgent context of eco-catastrophe, the high-stakes question of how to rethink the human and the nonhuman arises (together, in relation with one another, entangled as they are, distinct as they might be…). Many theorists from myriad disciplines and multidisciplinary areas have taken on this question, some stressing the “intrinsic value” of the natural world, some proclaiming the end of nature, some critiquing the concept of Nature as so all-encompassing that it inevitably allows human claims to mastery of the nonhuman. Though this course cannot exhaustively survey all these approaches, we will explore some of the key contemporary debates (regarding mass extinction, Gaia theories, the oft-cited “Anthropocene”) pertaining to deep ecology, social and political ecology, de-growth theory, object-oriented ontology, speculative realism, environmental justice, posthumanism, ecofeminism, (feminist) new materialisms. Claire Sagan.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 279 - Pandemic, Politics and Theory
1 unit(s)
(Same as POLI 279 ) Who knew that a virus could so radically interrupt, accelerate, damage, mobilize humans and nonhumans? In a context which reads increasingly like a tragic dystopia, this course explores theoretical texts that engage the current pandemic and its effects on power, discipline, and control. We discuss how the virus has transformed our relationship to temporality, the recognition and erasure of care work, the microbe’s relation to ecology and disaster capitalism, the pandemic’s effects on borders, immunity, community, and confinement, masks, faces and screens, mutual aid and abandonment, neoliberal austerity and public health, epidemiology and epistemology, the unknown and uncertainty, etc. Slavoj Zizek immediately described the “PANdemIC” as “a moment when the greatest act of love is to stay distant from the object of your affection.” While Paul Preciado has argued that the lockdown has entrenched a biopolitics of “pharmacopornographic production,” Nick Mirzoeff has described New York City as a “necropolis” that should be transformed into decolonial networks of care. Wendy Brown, Lauren Berlant, Brian Massumi each reflected upon the quarantine. We attempt to ride the prolific wave of writings that came out of COVID19 and its biopolitics, for collective catharsis and in hopes to be better equipped to face this faceless event. Claire Sagan.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: INT -
STS 284 - Temporality, Ecology, and Technoscience Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as POLI 284 ) Drawing from decolonial ecologies, queer ecofeminisms, and other critical, ecosophical perspectives, this theory course engages the politics of ecology and technology insofar as these invite us to rethink temporalities. Both ecological urgency and the need to slow down crucially inform local and global environmental justice and ecosophy – with degrowth, convivial, radical democratic, postcapitalist communities reclaiming and designing new and old, sustainable modes of living. Meanwhile emergency and end-times discourses feed into authoritarian temptations and into the legitimization of technological hubris (e.g, nuclear energy or geoengineering as “solutions” to the climate wreckage; escapisms such as the colonization of outer space, A.I.-based survivalist fantasies, etc). Claire Sagan.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 286 - Environmental Anthropology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ANTH 286 and ENST 286 ) Environmental anthropology examines the relationship between humans and their environments. This interdisciplinary field encompasses a diverse range of interests, from local to global connections. It addresses critical issues such as perceptions of global climate change, environmental cognition, religion, resource management, and environmental values. This course explores the development of environmental anthropology and its connections to broader research on human-environment interactions. We examine several case studies within the Hudson Valley while discussing the rise of Cultural Ecology and other key trends, such as the political economy-oriented approach, and symbolic approach. The course also reviews contemporary fields like Ecological Anthropology, Political Ecology, Historical Ecology, and Symbolic Ecology, and focuses on current themes in Social-Ecological Systems (SES) research. Students also have a chance to visit agrarian spaces that utilize an SES framework. Mark Chatarpal.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 288 - Machines and Musicians: A Technocultural History from Metronomes to Moby Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as MUSI 288). This course explores the often-unacknowledged connections between novel acoustic technologies and vital compositional practices. Through weekly lectures, assignments, and discussions, students consider the ways in which machines have helped to influence certain musical trends from the classical, Romantic, and contemporary eras.
Some featured clockwork and electronic technologies include Winkel’s Componium, Maelzel’s Panharmonicon, the Welte-Mignon player piano, Cahill’s Telharmonium, the Theremin, and the Moog synthesizer. This technocultural survey similarly presents a gamut of musical repertoires: from Haydn’s musical-clock suites to Antheil’s Ballet mécanique; Miles Davis’ synthesized jazz albums to Todd Machover’s recent robotic opera, Death and the Powers; and more.
In a final project devoted to modern-age sound production, students examine compositions and texts by Schaeffer, Stockhausen, Xenakis, Reich, and Roads. Grading is determined through class participation, a midterm test, a research and analysis project, as well as a listening quiz. Alexander Bonus.
Prerequisite(s): One unit in one of the following: Music, Science, Technology, and Society; Sociology; or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 290 - Community-Engaged Learning Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Course Format: INT -
STS 298 - Independent Work Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Course Format: OTH
Science, Technology and Society: III. Advanced
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STS 301 - Senior Seminar Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
The seminar meets during the first six weeks of the second semester. Senior majors present and defend their senior theses before the student and faculty members of the program. The Department.
Course Format: INT -
STS 303 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 unit(s)
Yearlong senior thesis research and writing. The Department.
Open only to STS seniors.
Yearlong course 303-STS 304 .
Course Format: INT -
STS 304 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 unit(s)
Yearlong senior thesis research and writing. The Department.
Open only to STS seniors.
Yearlong course STS 303 -304.
Course Format: INT -
STS 305 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
One-semester thesis research and writing. Used only for unusual circumstances. Open only to STS seniors.
Prerequisite(s): Special permission.
Course Format: INT -
STS 307 - Advanced Topics in Health Economics and Policy Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ECON 307 ) A survey of contemporary issues in the economics of health and health policy including a more detailed examination of select issues from ECON 220 /STS 220 and more advanced topics using recent research in health economics. Alicia Atwood.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 201 and ECON 203 ; or permission of the instructor.
Recommended: ECON 220 /STS 220 .
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 323 - History of Geological Thought 2020
1 unit(s)
(Same as ESCI 323 ) In this course we examine the historical context and scientific ideas put forth by natural philosophers and scientists including Thomas Burnet, Nicolas Steno, James Hutton, Charles Lyell, Charles Darwin, Alfred Wegener, Marie Tharp, Bruce Heezen, Stephen Jay Gould, Niles Eldredge, Neil Shubin, James Lovelock and Walter Alvarez. Topics of study include geologic time, continental drift and plate tectonics, evolution and punctuated equilibrium, Gaia, and bolide impacts. This intensive requires a one-week field trip to Great Britain in the first week of Spring Break. Jill Schneiderman.
Prerequisite(s): Must be a science or Science, Technology, and Society major at the sophomore, junior or senior level, or by permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: INT -
STS 330 - Death and Birth Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as SOCI 330 ) Births happen every day. And unless you’re a turritopsis doohmii jellyfish, death is inevitable. While we may personally care about certain births and deaths (our own and those of people we care about), they are not inherently significant events. So, what makes these events special? This seminar explores the social nature of birth and death, primarily in the context of the United States. How do we make sense of and attribute meaning to birth, death, and… the beyond? How do these things organize social roles and responsibilities? How do social inequalities shape birth and death? Whose births/deaths are made to matter? Throughout this seminar, students conduct their own research project and engage with sociological research, film, literature, and art to investigate the stuff between conception and the afterlife. Catherine Tan.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 340 - Advanced Urban and Regional Studies Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Topic for 2024/25b: Cities and the Politics of Technology. (Same as GEOG 340 and URBS 340 ) This seminar focuses on power and the politics of technology in modern cities. The class aims to put the contemporary urban scene of ubiquitous computing technology and data-driven forms of accumulation and decision making into critical perspective. It sketches out a history of the urban present in three main parts. The first examines how political technologies of social coordination, separation, surveillance, and planning constituted an apparatus of disciplinary power animating liberal capitalist cities. The second highlights the wartime emergence of novel techniques of control tied to computational technologies and explores how critiques of postwar urban planning figured a reconceptualization of cities as complex and self-organizing systems. The third probes the political character and social consequences of those market-based forms of technological urbanism that have taken hold in the internet era. Throughout the course of this semester, we will work to remain attuned to the ways in which technological devices, systems, and methods are simultaneously embedded within and constitutive of wider social relations and historically specific forms of power. John Elrick.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 347 - Asian Sociotechnical Imaginaries Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 347 and SOCI 347 ) Technological development is not “simply a matter of advances in science and technology, but a product of complex entanglements among knowledge, technical capability, politics, and culture” (Jasanoff 2005, 290). Thinking of science and technology in Asia in particular brings to mind images of unparalleled development, the futuristic, the optimistic, the dystopian, and disaster simultaneously.
This seminar examines key topics at the intersection of science, society, and the state in contemporary Asia. We will analyze questions like how are cutting edge technologies employed in governance in different Asian states? How has science been used to craft imaginaries of the self and the nation in Asia? Are the dynamics of technological development in Asia unique, and how do they shape Asian nation’s position on the global stage? By delving in-depth into different international cases from across the Asian continent, we examine how science and technology shape—and are shaped by—structures of inequality, social identities, states’ governance strategies, and society’s counter-movements against the state. Weekly topics include, but are not limited to, pandemic management and public health, genetic nationalism, biopolitics, coercive environmentalism, contending with nuclear disaster, models of technological innovation, surveillance capitalism, scientism in policy making, internet politics, and human-robot co-existence. National contexts include China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Singapore, India, and Indonesia. Abigail Coplin.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 354 - Critical Issues in Women’s Health Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as WFQS 354 ) This course provides an overview of critical issues affecting women’s health in the United States. By identifying systemic reasons and historical contexts for women’s experience of bias and discrimination in healthcare, students gain an understanding of the gaps in medical research, representation, and funding for women’s health. Review of such health conditions as endometriosis, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders provide pertinent examples. Students also discuss other current public health crises, such as the public health implications of abortion policies and the Black maternal health crisis. We consider health from biological, life course, and social determinants perspectives, including frameworks of women’s health disparities and intersectionality. Christie Van Horne.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 355 - Rethinking the Invasive Species Challenge
1 unit(s)
(Same as BIOL 355 ) What would it mean to approach the phenomenon of biological invasion in North America as an environmental justice issue? This course, “Rethinking the Invasive Species Challenge,” situates prevailing engagements with biological invasion in both the natural sciences and the humanities by re-routing the conversation through Native studies. Focusing on North America, the course will historicize biological invasion, paying careful attention to its entanglements with settler colonialism and racial capitalism. Through multi-disciplinary engagement with biological invasion and the field of invasion biology, students explore the historical roots of a pressing ecological challenge, the connections between scientific research and its applications, and critical Indigenous engagements with colonial epistemologies and land practices. In addition to honing valuable interpretative and synthetic reading skills, students have an opportunity to pursue their own interests through a significant research project related to course themes. Course texts are drawn from across the disciplines and divisions. Fields represented include environmental history, anthropology, invasion biology, environmental studies, and Indigenous STS. Daniel Schniedewind.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 357 - Research Methods in Health Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
The objective of this course is to expose students to research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, often applied to epidemiologic, public health, and health policy and management questions. Students learn to review scientific and conceptual literature critically to identify gaps or weaknesses in the literature, develop research objectives and/or testable hypotheses, and to apply appropriate methods for sampling, data collection and measurement, and analysis. Students also learn to write a research proposal appropriate for funding. Finally, students experience peer review as a means of expression and gain practice absorbing input to improve research projects. Elizabeth Bradley.
Prerequisite(s): One statistics course: Either MATH 141 , MATH 240 , PSYC 200 , or ECON 209 .
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 360 - Issues in Bioethics
1 unit(s)
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 370 - Feminism and Environmentalism
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENST 370 and WFQS 370 ) In this seminar we explore some basic concepts and approaches within feminist environmental analysis paying particular attention to feminist theory and its relevance to environmental issues. We examine a range of feminist research and analysis in ‘environmental studies’ that is connected by the recognition that gender subordination and environmental destruction are related phenomena. That is, they are the linked outcomes of forms of interactions with nature that are shaped by hierarchy and dominance, and they have global relevance. The course helps students discover the expansive contributions of feminist analysis and action to environmental research and advocacy; it provides the chance for students to apply the contributions of a feminist perspective to their own specific environmental interests. Jill Schneiderman.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor; WFQS 130 recommended.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2024/25.
-
STS 371 - Gender, Science and Politics
1 unit(s)
(Same as POLI 371 and WFQS 371 ) In a context that some have described as “post-truth,” and in which “marching for Science” has become a form of resistance to power, there are high stakes behind science literacy. When the climate sciences are helping us understand our ecological condition, yet climatology and the new discourse of “Anthropocene” also has begun legitimizing fantasies of geoengineering the Earth, what would a feminist climatology look like? In today’s digital age, when boundaries between real/unreal, physical/virtual, human/natural, female/male seem to collapse all around us, should we, more-than-women and more-than-men espouse our new cyborg selves, or cling to an image of women-as-goddesses oh-so-close to nature, and to images of men as taming, mastering, dominating nature? What are some alternatives beyond these possibilities? This course critically engages the sciences from a feminist theoretical perspective. We examine the ”situated” nature of scientific knowledge, against the positivist grain of scientific claims to Truth and objectivity. We also examine how feminist theorists have drawn from some dissensual and innovative scientific theories of late, to inspire provocative arguments about the environment, ontology, and normativity. Claire Sagan.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2024/25.
-
STS 374 - Epidemic: Global Responses to Disease Outbreak and Public Health Crises
1 unit(s)
(Same as SOCI 374 ) What is an “epidemic”? How are epidemics given social and cultural meaning? How do epidemics mobilize action? This course takes a global perspective to understand how different countries address disease outbreaks. This course approaches epidemics (and the idea of “epidemic”) as vehicles to understand the social structures and mechanisms that shape the way societies conceptualize and respond to public health crises. Students also consider factors that facilitate the construction of epidemics. For instance, Autism Spectrum Disorder prevalence has increased precipitously over the last twenty years. Autism is estimated to affect 1 in 59 children in the United States and 1 in 38 in South Korea. But is there an autism “epidemic”? What are the factors contributing to this rise? How is the term “epidemic” mobilized? And what does this achieve? How does increasing prevalence change the way societies think about autism? Students engage with sociological and public health scholarship on HIV/AIDS, Ebola, SARS, Zika, measles, autism, and opioid addiction. Catherine Tan.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 376 - Ecological Catastrophe and Nietzsche’s Eternal Return
1 unit(s)
(Same as POLI 376 and ENST 376) This course explores several sorts of texts together, for thought experiments pertaining to our times of ecological catastrophe. We critically engage: 1) theories concerned with ecological collapse, extinction, catastrophism, and the oft-cited and ill-named Anthropocene 2) literature on Nietzsche within environmental political thought 3) literature on Nietzsche and gender 4) selected primary texts by Nietzsche. Examining the latter in close readings and in the context of our compromised ecological futures, we ask ourselves to what extent the Nietzschean concepts of “eternal return” and “will to power” may help us think in these troubled times: what would a feminist Nietzschean ecology look like? Claire Sagan.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 378 - Strategic Thinking in Global Health
1 unit(s)
This course seeks to equip students with knowledge and skills to understand current global health challenges in their historical context. We begin with the emergence of international health and humanitarian efforts in the wake of World War I and track various conflicts in approaches in the post-World War II era. Students also develop the capacity to frame problems, understand root causes of problems, develop and analyze strategic alternatives, and communicate recommended strategies to a variety of audiences engaged in global health. Assignments include weekly reading and discussion, small group strategy brief presentations, and an individual paper on a relevant topic selected by the student and approved by the instructor. Elizabeth Bradley.
Prerequisite(s): One unit of social science or one unit in Science, Technology, and Society and permission of the instructor.
One 3-hour period.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 382 - Social History of Public Health Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Societal forces have impacted human health throughout history. From smallpox to COVID-19, we look at how outbreaks and diseases shape society. This course examines the social, political, and racial forces that determine the experiences of health in the past and present. Through case studies, using international and national examples, including cholera, HIV, unethical research practices, and polio, we analyze how the health status of people is affected by various social determinants. Students are asked to consider how understanding the past can be used as a tool for creating change for the future. Christie Van Horne.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 384 - Seminar: Grand Challenges of Global Mental Health Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as PSYC 384 ) This seminar examines empirical literature related to each of the nine grand challenges of global mental health identified by Bajbouj et al. (2022), which include health in conflict and crisis settings, access to treatment and medical services, public trust and health literacy, health disparities, mental health care in pandemics, health and climate crisis, new technologies, education of health workers, and child and adolescent health. We also consider empirical research on the role of local and regional culture in the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of mental health concerns, and its specific relevance to these nine challenges. Sue Trumbetta.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
STS 393 - Special Topics in Biology Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
A variety of current and timely topics in Biology is considered by these intensive mentored experiences. Each of these involve close mentored work in small groups of students around a key topic in biology. A variety of formats is used, including field experiences, field trips, different types of media and different approaches. Topics and instructors vary each semester. David Esteban.
Topic One: (b) Investigating Chronic Disease. (Same as STS 393 ) (0.5 units, ungraded). An examination of chronic disease with a focus on ME/CFS, a disease with an unknown cause, no known biomarkers, and no cure. We explore recent research to identify the underlying basis of the disease and find treatments, and the role of viral infection, microbiome alterations, and immune dysfunction. We explore the historical and social factors that underlie the stigmatization and insufficient understanding of the disease. Students develop projects on this or other similar diseases. David Esteban.
Topic Two: (b) Biology in the Community: Public Health. (Same as STS 393 ) (0.5 or 1 unit, ungraded) Students partner with staff at the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (or another local public health organization) to identify a current public health issue, design and execute an intervention, and assess its effectiveness. Supplemental readings are required in order to provide a framework to successfully engage with the community and complete the work. In addition, weekly group meetings encourage students to formulate and refine goals and to actively monitor the proposed initiative to help the Department or organization realize its vision. Leroy Cooper.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: INT -
STS 394 - Philosophy of Mental Illness
0.5 unit(s)
(Same as PHIL 394 ) This interdisciplinary intensive focuses on two main issues: psychopathological categorization and diagnosis, and ethical issues that surround categorization, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders. We will ask questions such as: what are the biological, physical, sociological, and individual characteristics that do influence, and which are the characteristics that should or should not influence, psychopathological taxonomy and diagnosis? What can we learn about mental illness from the disability rights movement? And are current treatment options the optimal approach for general and particular mental illnesses? After an initial seminar-style period of common reading and discussion, students will be expected to pursue individual research projects that may involve a short-term production or creative component, with instructor approval. Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 3-hour period.
Not offered in 2024/25.
Course Format: INT -
STS 399 - Senior Independent Work Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Course Format: OTH
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