Science, Knowledge, and Power
SOCY 363
300-Level Courses
Winter 2027
3 Units
In-person
3
one-way Exclusions
Lecture, private study
Please note that course information listed in the Arts and Science Course Calendar supersedes any information listed on the Sociology website.
For the most current course offerings, registered 黑料吃瓜资源 students should consult .
Course Description
This course critically examines the roles of scientific knowledge in contemporary societies, with particular emphasis on the politics of difference. Students will learn key theories of scientific knowledge production and familiarize themselves with debates how biomedical understandings of human difference are socially shaped; for example, but not limited to, race, sex and gender, sexuality, and ability.
Learning Outcomes
- Appreciation of the socially constructed and contested nature of science and technology in society.
- Knowledge and understanding: the ability to identify and describe key questions and concerns about (a) the ways in which social assumptions (i.e., about race, gender, and sexuality) shape scientific knowledge, and (b) the ways in which science and technology influence the politics of race, gender, and sexuality.
- Development of reading and writing skills (this is a very reading intensive course).
- Use abstract STS related concepts with confidence in a variety of written forms to explain contemporary interdisciplinary approaches to the study of science and technology in society to their peers, teaching assistants and course instructor.
- Demonstrate the ability to evaluate and synthesize information obtained from a variety of written sources and communicate relevant information in different ways.