Cornell University

Science and Technology Studies

Science and Technology Studies Cornell University 306 Rockefeller Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-3995 607 255-3810 stsgradfield@cornell.edu Program Link: http://www.sts.cornell.edu

Alison Power Administration Dean 350 Caldwell Hall Email: dean_gradschool@cornell.edu Phone: 607-255-7374 Fax: 607-255-5822

Background

The Graduate Field of Science & Technology Studies (S&TS) at Cornell University is devoted to training students to conduct advanced research in one of the most exciting of contemporary academic disciplines. S&TS research treats science and technology as historical and cultural productions. Research in this field therefore requires the ability to uncover how scientific knowledge, authority, and expertise operate in different social contexts, and to understand their changing historical meanings. Possible topics of investigation range from transformations in early-modern natural philosophy to the dynamics of contemporary environmental, biological, and technological change.

The field transcends the boundaries of pre-existing disciplinary specialties. Such categories as “historian” or “sociologist,” are still relevant for guiding research design, but they fail increasingly to capture the transdisciplinary character of S&TS investigations.
Our aim is to bring together faculty and students with diverse backgrounds and interests in a shared effort to study science and technology with special tools for exploring distinctive questions. At the same time, these tools and questions are designed to facilitate conversations with colleagues in traditional disciplines.

Our approach throughout is both descriptive (aimed at understanding how science and technology are done) and normative (for example, showing where actual practices and professed norms are in conflict).

Established in 1991, Cornell’s Department and Graduate Field of S&TS were formed from two previously independent Programs: “Science, Technology and Society” (STS) and “History and Philosophy of Science and Technology” (HPST). The department brought together a group of scholars with convergent interests committed to the rigorous academic advancement of this new specialty.

Graduate Degrees Offered

Ph.D. -- Science and Technology Studies
Major concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology

Admissions Requirements

• all Graduate School Requirements, including the TOEFL Exam for Non-Native English Applicants
• three recommendations
• GRE general test
• writing sample

Degree Requirements

Course requirements provide a foundation for students in S&TS, covering key questions and relevant research methods:

1. Each student must successfully complete, prior to their A-exams, a one semester seminar, S&TS 7111, intended as an introduction to the field as a whole. Each student also must complete a one-semester seminar on methods, and at least four additional S&TS courses that broadly cover the field. A total of at least four of the courses taken during a student's first year should be designated as S&TS.
2. All students will be expected to achieve a level of competence in one foreign language sufficient for reading the literature in the student's research area. It will be up to the special committee to decide how this competence should be demonstrated. Additional languages may be required at the discretion of the special committee.

Faculty Information

- Richard Boyd -- Concentrations: Degrees: Ph.D.
history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: philosophy of science, psychology, epistemology, language, and mind; ethics; social and political philosophy, especially Marxism
- Peter Dear -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: early modern science and philosophy; Scientific Revolution; historical sociology of knowledge

-  Tarleton Gillespie -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: digital copyright; technology and cultural participation; critical discourse of technology; new media and society; law, policy, and technological change

-  Stephen Hilgartner -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: social dimensions and politics of contemporary and emerging science and technology; social studies of the life sciences; property regimes; risk

-  T.J. Hinrichs -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: Chinese medicine and healing

-  Ronald Kline -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: history of technology in the United States, especially information technology, engineering, industrial research, and consumer technology

-  Stacey Langwick -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: medical anthropology; post-colonial science studies

-  Christine Leuenberger -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: classical and contemporary sociological theory; sociology of knowledge; sociology of culture; medical sociology; interaction sociology; gender studies; science studies; social studies of the human; and behavioral sciences

-  Bruce Lewenstein -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: history and evaluation of public communication of science and technology; models of science communication; documentation and history of contemporary science

-  Michael Lynch -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: sociology of science and technology; ethnomethodology; criminal justice practices; sociology of mental disorder

-  Trevor Pinch -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: sociology of science and technology; sociology of musical instruments; sociology of the internet and online interaction

-  Alison Power -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: ecology of agricultural systems, with emphasis on pest management

-  Rachel Prentice -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: anthroplogy of science and technology, particularly the intersection of digital technologies and medicine; medical anthropology; social studies of medical education, engineering, and computer science; virtual worlds

-  Sara Pritchard -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: history of technology; environmental history; modern France and French Empire

-  William Provine -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: history of population genetics; evolutionary theory

-  Judith Reppy -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: military technology; dual use technology and export control policy; bio-terrorism issues

- Margaret Rossiter -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: history of women scientists; history of agricultural science; history of American science in the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries

-  Phoebe Sengers -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: critical technical practices; technology and consumer culture; human-computer interaction; artificial intelligence; interactive technology for environmental awareness; cultural theory

-  Suman Seth -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: history of physical sciences in the 19th and 20th centuries; gender science; science, colonialism, and nationalism

-  Kathleen Vogel -- Concentrations: history and philosophy of science and technology; social studies of science and technology; Research interests: military technology and innovation; nonproliferation and arms control; defense and science policy; intelligence assessments; scientific expertise; politics of science and technology

Financial Information

2009-10 Tuition: $29,500

Some 97 percent of incoming doctoral students are guaranteed full multi-year support from Cornell for their graduate studies (continuing support being contingent upon academic progress and satisfactory performance in teaching and research) and 71 percent of graduate students in research-based master's programs receive funding from Cornell for their studies.

A fellowship is an award that requires nothing in return from the student beyond satisfactory progress in study and research. Fellowships are awarded through the graduate fields on the basis of scholastic ability and promise of achievement. Fellowships typically include full tuition, a nine-month stipend ($20,710  for 2008-09), and Cornell student health insurance. A summer stipend may also be provided. Those who want to be considered for fellowships should submit GRE general test scores, even if the field does not require them.

There are several types of assistantships, which require the student to fulfill certain duties in return for support. These include T.A., R.A., and G.A. positions.