51 courses with the subject STS, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
STS 10520th Century Revolutions in Physics1
(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. Two 75-minute periods. Not offered in 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
STS 110Interactions 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 2026/27. Course Format: INT
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to public health’s core principles, structures, and functions. Students explore the Ten Essential Public Health Services that shape public health practice in assessment, policy development, and assurance. We examine the organization of public health at local, state, national, and global levels, evaluating the roles of governmental and non-governmental entities and the influence of public health policy on population health. Fundamental public health methods, including epidemiology and qualitative research, are reviewed to demonstrate how data drives decision-making and informs interventions. Additionally, we analyze the social and behavioral determinants of health, investigating how factors such as socioeconomic status, culture, and health behaviors impact health outcomes. Through case studies and discussion students build a strong foundation in public health. Christie Van Horne. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
STS 131Genetic Engineering: Basic Principles and Ethical Questions1
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 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
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 in 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
STS 147Trances, Visions, Meditative States and Altered States of Consciousness1
(Same as RELI 147 ) 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. Two 75-minute periods. Not offered in 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
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
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 152Smallpox: The Biology and History of a Disease1
(Same as BIOL 152 , GNCS 152 , and HIST 152 ) Smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases in history: it killed millions, often leaving survivors scarred or blinded. Its eradiation in 1980 also marks one of the great medical victories of the modern era. This course examines smallpox from both biological and historical perspectives. Students explore the workings of the virus, the effects of the disease, the popularization of inoculaton in the eighteenth century, Edward Jenner’s developmemt of the cowpox vaccine and how it protects, and efforts to enforce vaccination globally through some of the earliest state public health initiatives. We also investigate the nineteenth-century origins of the anti-vacciation movement with particular attention to its class, anti-imperial, and religious underpinnings. David Esteban, Lydia Murdoch. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
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 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
STS 200Conceptualizing STS: Theories and Practice1
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. José Perillán.
One other Science, Technology and Science course. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
Offered
Fall
STS 220Health Economics1
(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.
ECON 102 . Students with a strong quantitative background may enroll with the instructor’s permission. Two 75-minute periods.
Offered
Fall
STS 221Medieval Science and Technology1
(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, José Perillán. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
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. Not offered in 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
(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.
One 100-level course in Philosophy. Two 75-minute periods. Not offered in 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
STS 236Digital Lives1
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. Anubha Singh. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
STS 237Theorizing Pandemic Media and Their Afterlives0.5
(Same as ASIA 237 , MEDS 237 , and PHIL 237 ) This course is based on a forthcoming book, Theorizing Pandemic Media and Their Afterlives, that I co-authored with Ruoyu Li, a Vassar alumna and my former student, now starting as an Assistant Professor in the Program on Peace and Conflict at Colgate University. The course begins from the observation that the COVID-19 pandemic was conceived, narrated, and visualized as a “numerical” crisis. In contrast to other pandemics (including the 1919 Spanish Influenza, which was represented as a spillover from the WWI battlefield, and HIV-AIDS, which was blamed on socially endangering behaviors), COVID-19 was hailed as an absolute statistical exception. We critically look at how the unprecedented proliferation of COVID-19 dashboards, coupled with the literacy universally required to decode their data visualizations, has conditioned the experience of living and dying under COVID-19, across different geographies, social and educational backgrounds, genders and generations, as well as political regimes. Theorizing the Dashboard as the premiere pandemic mass media enables us to analyze a new set of biopolitical practices that bestowed both care and abandonment by numerically targeting distinct populations of the world. We read the work of theorists of biopower and necropower, including Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, Roberto Esposito, and Achille Mbembe, as well as scholars such as Belinda Kong, who has claimed that “the pandemic” is the foremost bio-securitizing and bio-orientalist discourse of the third millennium, and Bishnupriya Ghosh, whose concept of epidemic media as “biotechnical forms” make viral infections not only legible but actionable. These readings not only give students the opportunity to reconnect with the most globally shared trauma of this generation, but also enable them to appraise the COVID-19 pandemic as a specific form of geospatial and biostatistical “world-making,” whose military legacies have transformed how we live and relate to each other today. Giovanna Borradori. First six-week course. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
(Same as SOCI 238 ) Modern society is awash with data. Almost everything we do generates new qualitative and quantitative data, while the deployment of data, in turn, increasingly shapes society, transforming governance, industry practices, the distribution of opportunities to individuals, and even how we understand our own identities. To employ an overused adage, data has become the new oil—functioning as an essential input driving social change, an invaluable resource to those who lay claim to it, and a source of risk. This course introduces the critical study of data through theory, case studies, and application. Readings draw on the academic literature in science and technology studies, sociology, political science, and other fields across the curriculum to demonstrate the functions data play in research, politics, business, and beyond. In addition, students engage with the popular press to see how data interpretations occur outside of the academy. Students also use available data sets and analysis programs—including spreadsheet tools and visualization software—to conduct data manipulation exercises thematically tied to the topics under discussion. Students gain a multidisciplinary analytical understanding of how data are shaping—and are shaped by—the world around us and experience the challenges and possibilities of data analysis. Abigail Coplin.
Not open to first-year students. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
Offered
Spring
STS 240The International Social Life of Science and Technology1
(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. Not offered in 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
STS 244Topics in Feminist and Queer Politics and Activism1
This course introduces students to various methodologies of gender studies and feminist analysis, with an emphasis on feminist and queer histories of knowledge formation, social activism, and cultural engagement. What kind of movements, societal transformations, kinship relations, cultural spaces, or political structures have feminist and queer actors pursued and brought into being? Differences within and around feminist and queer movements will be explored, as we consider the complicated paths from theory to praxis in global and postcolonial settings.
One prior course in WFQS or permission of the instructor. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
Offered
Fall
STS 247Albert Einstein1
(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. Not offered in 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
(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. Course Format: CLS
(Same as CMPU 250 ) Explores the intersection of data science, ethics, and societal impact. This course equips students with practical skills in data analysis and machine learning while critically examining data and data-driven technologies. This course emphasizes responsible data practices. Topics may include algorithmic discrimination and carcerality, data feminism, surveillance, and the social impacts of data science applications. Readings and class discussions may focus on critical scholarship and case studies around data and algorithms in a variety of real-world contexts, such as social media, military, healthcare, government, and criminal-legal systems. Concurrently, through hands-on projects and case studies, students will develop technical proficiency to use data to solve problems. This course is designed for students who want to apply and understand data science techniques in social contexts. The Department.
CMPU 100 or CMPU 102 . Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
Offered
Fall and Spring
STS 252Health Inequalities and Activism1
(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
(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 263Current and Emerging Issues in Public Health1
(Same as ANST 263 ) This course explores contemporary issues affecting public health on local, national, and global scales. Students discuss public health challenges and responses, the impact on populations, and consider interventions. We analyze public health events as they unfold, evaluating trends, policy implications, and the roles of public health. Topics include health disparities, environmental health, reproductive health, technology, and healthcare delivery. Students develop critical thinking skills and practical knowledge to address current public health challenges through lectures, discussions, case studies, guest speakers, and projects. Christie Van Horne. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
(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.
ECON 102 or permission of the instructor. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
Offered
Spring
STS 273The New Economy1
(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. Not offered in 2026/27.
(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
(Same as POLI 279 ) 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
(Same as ENST 287 ) Is it possible to power a country, city, or college campus with 100% renewable electricity? What combination of renewables, storage, and grid infrastructure could make this feasible? In this course, students learn how to analyze these types of energy questions using power system models and other tools. This course focuses on the electricity sector and students gain an understanding of how power plants, transmission lines, and other technologies work together to supply electricity. Students use accessible modeling tools to compare energy systems under a variety of climate-focused policies, such as renewable portfolio standards, learning how technical choices connect to policy outcomes. Along the way, students develop skills in system modeling, scenario analysis, and environmental policy evaluation—tools relevant for careers in energy, environment, and sustainability. The goal of the final project, a central feature of the course, is to conduct a personally meaningful analysis that impacts a real-world energy policy, inform a low-carbon infrastructure decision, or start a new sustainability initiative at Vassar. This course is a good fit for anyone who is interested in energy, sustainability, and the environment and no previous knowledge of energy or power systems is required. Students from the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences are all welcome! Michael Roth. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
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
Yearlong senior thesis research and writing. The Department. Open only to STS seniors. Yearlong course STS 303- STS 304 . Individual conferences with the instructor. Course Format: INT
Yearlong senior thesis research and writing. The Department. Open only to STS seniors. Yearlong course STS 303 -STS 304. Individual conferences with the instructor. Course Format: INT
STS 307Advanced Topics in Health Economics and Policy1
(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.
ECON 201 and ECON 203 ; or permission of the instructor. Recommended ECON 220 / STS 220 . Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
Offered
Fall
STS 323History of Geological Thought 20201
(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.
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 2026/27. Course Format: INT
STS 330Death and Birth1
(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
(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. Not offered in 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
(Same as WFQS 354 ) This course provides an overview of critical issues affecting women’s health in the United States. By identifying the systemic reasons and historical context women experience bias and discrimination in healthcare, students gain an understanding of the gaps in medical research, representation, and funding for women’s health. Reviewing health conditions such as endometriosis, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders provides context. Students discuss other current public health crises, such as the public health implications of abortion bans and the Black maternal health crisis. We address the imperative for transgender and nonbinary inclusiveness in language and public health solutions. The life course, social determinants, reproductive justice, and intersectionality frameworks guide and contextualize the topics discussed. Christie Van Horne. One 2-hour period. Course Format: CLS
(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 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
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.
STS 376Ecological Catastrophe and Nietzsche’s Eternal Return1
(Same as ENST 376 and POLI 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 2026/27. Course Format: CLS
(Same as POLI 378 ) 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.
One unit of social science or one unit in Science, Technology, and Society and permission of the instructor. One 3-hour period. Course Format: CLS
Offered
Spring
STS 383AI and Society1
From recommendation engines and generative chatbots to predictive policing and climate modeling, Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are deeply embedded in our everyday lives. Drawing on Science and Technology Studies (STS), Global Media Studies, Anthropology, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), this course takes a critical perspective on AI by examining the cultural, political, and economic forces that shape its development, as well as the consequences of deploying standardizing technologies in diverse contexts. Through case studies ranging from facial recognition and automated hiring to AI in agriculture, healthcare, and media, students explore how these systems intersect with long-standing issues of power, inequality, surveillance, labor, and governance. Central to the course is the question of responsibility: Who is accountable when AI systems make biased decisions or cause harm? How can we account for environmental harms in these future-making technologies? What kinds of governance, regulation, or grassroots activism can guide AI toward more just outcomes? Students will also engage with global perspectives and postcolonial critiques of computing that open space for alternative technological futures. The goal of the course is to help students critically evaluate the narratives, infrastructures, and practices that underpin AI while developing their own informed perspectives on how these technologies might be governed and reimagined toward more equitable futures. Anubha Singh. Two 75-minute periods. Course Format: CLS
STS 384Seminar: Grand Challenges of Global Mental Health1
(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.
Permission of the instructor. One 3-hour period. Course Format: CLS
Offered
Fall
STS 394Philosophy of Mental Illness0.5
(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.
