CISST: The Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Science and Technology

The Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Science and Technology (CISST) brings together faculty, undergraduate and graduate programs, and research initiatives concerned with understanding science and technology in an interdisciplinary context. It is concerned equally with the historical, philosophical and cultural study of science, technology, and medicine, and with critical analysis of issues raised by scientific and technological innovations in contemporary society. CISST houses two major programs: HPST (History and Philosophy of Science and Technology) and STS (Science, Technology and Society). It also sponsors visiting scholars, postdoctoral researchers, workshops, and speakers, providing a bridge between the humanities and social sciences, and the sciences and engineering.

Undergraduate Program

At the undergraduate level, CSST houses STS, an undergraduate major that grants both a B.A. and a B.S. degree. The STS is designed to foster understanding of issues raised by the natures, consequences, and social shaping of technology and science in the contemporary world. To this end, the STS curriculum combines interdisciplinary, humanistic, and social scientific studies of science and technology in society with attainment of either technical literacy or fundamental understanding in some area of engineering or science. The STS major will appeal both to students who wish to complement studies in science or engineering by reflecting on technical innovations in their social, cultural, and environmental contexts, and to students interested in enriching their social scientific and humanistic studies by exploring how those fields are being affected by developments in science and engineering.

While all STS majors take a common Core, other requirements for the major vary, depending on whether the student wishes to pursue a STS-related concentration on a theme in the social sciences and humanities (BA), or an in-depth concentration in one or more fields of science or engineering (BS). The STS Core includes a course (STS 101) introducing STS issues and foundational materials (taken at the outset of a student¼s path through the major), and a senior seminar (STS 200) devoted to reflection on STS classics, theories, and methods, and to the production of a culminating research project. Prospective majors should consult the STS description in the catalogue or contact Professor Robert McGinn and the CISST staff (in particular, Margaret Harris: mharris@ stanford.edu) for further information about the major.

In addition to the undergraduate major, CISST also offers an honors program in STS that is open not only to STS majors but also to students in other majors who wish to pursue a senior honors project that addresses a question arising from the relations among science, technology and society. For further details, please consult the description of the STS honors program at www.stanford.edu/group/STS/honors.html and contact the Director of the Honors Program, Dr. Rebecca Slayton (rslayton@ stanford.edu).

CISST also publishes a selection of undergraduate research in STS in our electronic undergraduate journal, Techne.

Students interested in a single discipline approach to the study of science and technology should consider majoring in either History (the History, Science and Medicine concentration within the History major) or Philosophy (the HPST concentration within the Philosophy major).

Graduate Program

At the graduate level, CISST houses an interdisciplinary graduate program (HPST) jointly administered by the History and Philosophy departments; it involves faculty and students in these and other departments in the Humanities. HPST sponsors a year-long colloquium series, a jointly taught core seminar for first and second-year graduate students, and offers a broad array of courses in the historical, philosophical and cultural study of science, technology, and medicine. Students are accepted into the program through the relevant departments and pursue their coursework both within their own department and within the interdisciplinary graduate program. They graduate with a degree in their discipline (e.g. History, Philosophy, Classics, Cultural and Social Anthropology, etc.) and a concentration in HPST. Prospective students interested in applying to the graduate program should consult the HPST description in the catalogue as well as the admissions requirements of the appropriate department in which they wish to apply for a M.A. or a Ph.D. Please contact Professor Michael Friedman and the CISST staff (in particular, Rosemary Rogers: (rrogers@ stanford.edu) for further information about graduate programs.

About the Center

Patrick Suppes Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Science and Technology