STS Syllabus

School of Humanities and Social Sciences, GITAM Deemed to be University
L T P S J C
SOCY3011 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
3 0 0 0 0 3
Pre-requisite Classical Sociological Thought
Co-requisite None
Preferable None
exposure
Course Description:
This course introduces students to philosophical, historical and sociological perspectives on

scientific knowledge and technology insofar as they affect our lives in direct and indirect ways.
We first look at the specificity of scientific thought and the scientific imagination, as a mode
of thought that emerges historically, rather than as an enterprise that seeks to reveal the laws
of nature. We will then look at the social construction of scientific ideas and technological
objects. We will look at historical and ethnographic approaches to study technological objects
and systems. Particularly, we will spend some time studying computational systems –
arguably the most influential contemporary technological system.
Course Educational Objectives:
• To develop an understanding of the scientific imagination as a historical

phenomenon.
• To impart the knowledge about the formation of the lab as a space for production of
knowledge and to understand how scientific understanding and technological designs
are social constructions.
• To develop an understanding of the social life of technological objects.
• To make the learner understand about the influence of society on technological
systems and vice versa throughconcrete case studies.
• To develop a detailed understanding of contemporary computational systems and
theirinfluence on all aspects of social life
UNIT 1 The formation of the scientific imagination 10 hours
Merton, Robert. 1942. "The Normative Structure of Science."
Bachaelard, Gaston. 2002. The formation of the Scientific mind. Preface and Chapter 1.
Manchester: Clinamen Press.
Daston, Lorraine, and Katharine Park. 2001. Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150–1750.
Ch: 7,8. Zone Books.
BA Sociology w.e.f. 2021-22 admitted batch

UNIT 2 Experimental science and the laboratory 8 hours
Eddington, Arthur. S.1925. “The Domain of Physical Science” in Joseph Needham ed.Science
Religion and Reality. New York: The Macmillan Company.
Shapin, Steven. 1988. The house of experiment in seventeenth century England. Isis 79(3):
373-404.
Latour, Bruno. "Give Me a Laboratory and I Will Raise the World." In Science Observed:
Perspectives on the Social Study of Science. Edited by Karin Knorr-Cetina, and Michael Mulkay.
London, UK: Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1983, pp. 141-170
Hacking, Ian. "Experimentation and Scientific Realism." Philosophical Topics 13 (1982): 71-87.
UNIT 3 Social construction of science and technology 8 hours
Martin, Emily. 1991. "The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a RomanceBased
on Stereotypical Male Female Roles." in Signs 16(3).
Trevor J. Pinch, Wiebe E. Bijker. 1984. "The social construction of facts and artefacts: or How
the sociology of science and the sociology of technology might benefit each other" inSocial
studies of science 14(3).
UNIT 4 Technological objects and socio-technical systems 8 hours
Kittler, Friedrich. 1986. "Gramophone." In Gramophone, Film, Typewriter. Translated from

the German by Geoffrey Winthrop-Young and Michael Wutz. Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press.
Fisch, Michael. 2018. An Anthropology of the Machine: Tokyo's Commuter Train Network.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
UNIT 5 Social studies of Computational Systems 6 hours
Schaffer, Simon. "Babbage's Intelligence: Calculating Engines and the Factory System."
Critical Inquiry 21 (1994): 203-227.
Roberts, Sarah. 2016. “Commercial Content Moderation: Digital Labourers' Dirty Work.” in
S.U. Noble and B.M. Tynes (eds.) The intersectional internet: race, sex, class, and culture
online. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Suchman, Lucy. 2007. Human-machine reconfigurations: plans and situated actions. New
York: Cambridge University Press. Ch:14,15.
Schüll, Natasha Dow. 2016. “Data for life: Wearable technology and the design of self-care.”in
BioSocieties, 11(3): 317-333.

References:
1. Merton, Robert. 1942. "The Normative Structure of Science."

2. Bachaelard, Gaston. 2002. The formation of the Scientific mind. Preface and Chapter 1.
Manchester: Clinamen Press.
3. Daston, Lorraine, and Katharine Park. 2001. Wonders and the Order of Nature,
1150–1750.Ch: 7,8. Zone Books.
4. Eddington, Arthur. S.1925. “The Domain of Physical Science” in Joseph Needham
ed.Science Religion and Reality. New York: The Macmillan Company.
5. Shapin, Steven. 1988. The house of experiment in seventeenth century England.
Isis 79(3):373-404.
6. Latour, Bruno. "Give Me a Laboratory and I Will Raise the World." In Science Observed:
Perspectives on the Social Study of Science. Edited by Karin Knorr-Cetina, and Michael
Mulkay. London, UK: Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1983, pp. 141-170
7. Hacking, Ian. "Experimentation and Scientific Realism." Philosophical Topics 13
(1982): 71-87.
8. Martin, Emily. 1991. "The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a
RomanceBased on Stereotypical Male Female Roles." in Signs 16(3).
9. Trevor J. Pinch, Wiebe E. Bijker. 1984. "The social construction of facts and
artefacts: or How the sociology of science and the sociology of technology might
benefit each other" inSocial studies of science 14(3).
10. Kittler, Friedrich. 1986. "Gramophone." In Gramophone, Film, Typewriter.
Translated fromthe German by Geoffrey Winthrop-Young and Michael Wutz.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
11. Fisch, Michael. 2018. An Anthropology of the Machine: Tokyo's Commuter Train
Network.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
12. Schaffer, Simon. "Babbage's Intelligence: Calculating Engines and the Factory
System."Critical Inquiry 21 (1994): 203-227.
13. Roberts, Sarah. 2016. “Commercial Content Moderation: Digital Labourers' Dirty
Work.” in
14. S.U. Noble and B.M. Tynes (eds.) The intersectional internet: race, sex, class, and
cultureonline. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
15. Suchman, Lucy. 2007. Human-machine reconfigurations: plans and situated
actions. NewYork: Cambridge University Press. Ch:14,15.
16. Schüll, Natasha Dow. 2016. “Data for life: Wearable technology and the design of self-
care.”in BioSocieties, 11(3): 317-333

Course Outcomes:
Students will be able to :
1. Develop an understanding of the scientific imagination as a historical phenomenon.

2. Understand the formation of the lab as a space for production of knowledge and how
scientific understanding and technological designs are socialconstructions.
3. Develop an understanding of the social life of technological objects.
4. Understand the influence of society on technological systems and vice versa
throughconcrete case studies
5. Develop a detailed understanding of contemporary computational systems and
theirinfluence on all aspects of social life
CO-PO Mapping:
PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PSO 1 PSO 2 PSO 3 PSO 4
CO1 3 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 1
CO2 3 1 2 2 3 3 2 3 2 3 2
CO3 3 1 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3
CO4 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2
CO5 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 3
Note: 1 - Low Correlation 2 - Medium Correlation 3 - High Correlation
APPROVED IN:
BOS : Humanities and Social Sciences ACADEMIC COUNCIL: 17-09-2021

27-08-2021
SDG No. & Statement:
SDG 17 : Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership
for Sustainable Development.
SDG Justification:
This course will enable the learner to understand the role of science and technology for a
better society and development. This is very crucial to strengthen the means of
implementation and revitalize the global partnership for social change and development.

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School of Humanities and Social Sciences, GITAM Deemed to be University

Pre-requisite Classical Sociological Thought

This course introduces students to philosophical, historical and sociological perspectives on

Course Educational Objectives:

• To develop an understanding of the scientific imagination as a historical

UNIT 1 The formation of the scientific imagination 10 hours

Merton, Robert. 1942. "The Normative Structure of Science."

BA Sociology w.e.f. 2021-22 admitted batch

UNIT 2 Experimental science and the laboratory 8 hours

UNIT 3 Social construction of science and technology 8 hours

UNIT 4 Technological objects and socio-technical systems 8 hours

Kittler, Friedrich. 1986. "Gramophone." In Gramophone, Film, Typewriter. Translated from

UNIT 5 Social studies of Computational Systems 6 hours

BA Sociology w.e.f. 2021-22 admitted batch

1. Merton, Robert. 1942. "The Normative Structure of Science."

BA Sociology w.e.f. 2021-22 admitted batch

Students will be able to :

1. Develop an understanding of the scientific imagination as a historical phenomenon.

Note: 1 - Low Correlation 2 - Medium Correlation 3 - High Correlation

BOS : Humanities and Social Sciences ACADEMIC COUNCIL: 17-09-2021

SDG No. & Statement:

BA Sociology w.e.f. 2021-22 admitted batch

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