This course offers an overview of the social and economic history of science and technoscience by introducing different historical cases where scientific and technological expertise have played a central role in defining political and economic power relations.
Learning objective
This course equips students to analyze science and engineering as integrally societal and social practices. Comprehension of historical developments that have shaped scientific and technological practices also offers tools for identifying and discussing ethical and social questions that are linked to science and engineering today.
Content
This course offers an overview of the social and economic history of science and technoscience by introducing different historical cases where scientific and technological expertise have played a central role in defining political and economic power relations. We will explore such examples as industrial enlightenment and the boundaries of knowledge, engineering and science as national projects in times of war and peace, technological visions and practices of urban planning and public infrastructure, as well as the growing role of corporate and industrial research over the course of the 20th century.
