Science & Technology Studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary program concerned with science and technology and their relationship to society. In addition to being concerned with the historical development and a philosophical understanding of the ideas and institutions of science and technology; Science and Technology Studies also examines their social, cultural, economic, ethical, and political implications.
The role that science and technology have played in shaping modern industrial societies is generally acknowledged, but few members of those societies, including scientists and engineers, possess a deep understanding of how that process has occurred or much knowledge of the complex technical and social interactions that direct change in either science or society. The Science and Technology Studies Program is intended to help create a coherent course of study for students interested in these questions by providing a broad range of perspectives.
The STS program at Williams takes a broad umbrella approach to the discipline. We including under our purview: classical STS and the sociology of science, the history and philosophy of science and technology, the economics of research/development and technological change, science and public policy, technology and the environment, scientometrics, the psychology of the interaction/interface between humans and technology, science fiction (and other artistic depictions of science and technology), as well as the broader ethical-value issues science and technology conjure forth.
The STS program has faculty from all all three divisions of the college and we see ourselves as fundamentally connected to building bridges across established disciplines and programs.