2010 Course Handbook
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SOC254: Science, Society and Environment
This unit examines the relationship between science and society through environmental sustainability. It focuses on two big questions: how can we understand science and scientific developments as social processes and institutions; and how can we understand the implications of scientific advance and insights on society? The first question is addressed through the sociology of knowledge. Here we examine what we mean by scientific knowledge, how this might differ from other knowledge systems and how science is actually practiced and new insights developed. The second question we address through debates on climate change and sustainability. We ask how and why scientists have raised questions about environmental sustainability. What is the basis of their claims and how might we understand this in the context of criticisms of science as based in an this of 'taming nature'? We then ask how scientists have engaged in broader social and political debates to advance their environmental insights. How have scientists influenced our societies to become more sustainable, and why have they not been more successful? Here we look to national and international scientific efforts to understand and advocate around climate change, such as the IPCC reports, and social and political responses.
| Credit Points: | 3 |
| Contact Hours: | |
| When Offered: | D2 - Day; Offered in the second half-year |
| Staff Contact(s): | Dr Ben Spies-Butcher |
| Prerequisites: |
12cp |
| Corequisites: | |
| NCCW(s): | |
| Unit Designation(s): | |
| Assessed As: | Graded |
| Offered By: | Department of Sociology |
| People or Planet: | Planet |
Timetable Information
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