Science and Technology Studies

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingEntry for encyclopedia/dictionary

Abstract

Science and Technology Studies (STS) is a multi-disciplinary field of scholarship concerned with the interrelations between science, technology and society. Comprising a variety of intellectual approaches from anthropology, sociology, history and philosophy of science, it is characterised by critiques of essentialism, positivism and determinism. Although not defined by any single methodological approach, a distinctive hallmark is the use of empirical case studies and the analysis of everyday work practices. Here, we introduce key developments in STS, from the Strong Programme in the 1970s, via the Social Construction of Technology and Actor-Network Theory, to Feminist and Postcolonial Technoscience. In the second part of the entry, we discuss some of the major ways STS has been applied in health research and social studies of medicine more broadly, with key examples from the literature.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEncyclopedia of Health Research in the Social Sciences
EditorsKevin Dew, Sarah Donovan
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing
Pages281-285
ISBN (Electronic)9781800885691
ISBN (Print)978180088568
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Dec 2023

Publication series

NameElgar Encyclopedias in the Social Sciences
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • science
  • technology
  • society
  • knowledge
  • philosophy
  • practices

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