C8983 - INTRODUZIONE AGLI STUDI SOCIALI DELLA SCIENZA E DELLA TECNOLOGIA (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course provides an introduction to the transdisciplinary field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). STS emerged in the mid-20th century with roots in pragmatism, interactionist and ethnomethodological sociology, and the anthropology of the laboratory and technology. By the end of the course, students will: 1. Learn the main theories, concepts and approaches developed by STS; 2. Be able to compare them analytically and to use them for understanding contemporary phenomena; 3. Understand issues related to the concept of materiality and infrastructure with their political, social and philosophical implications; 4. Know the main research methods in STS and have developed methodological training for designing STS research.

Course contents

The course introduces the genesis and the main orientations of STS, examining science and technology as collective, situated and materially organised activities. Particular attention will be devoted to the development of STS through the interaction between theoretical reflection, scientific and environmental activism, progressive academic institutionalisation, and the definition of the multiple approaches that make up the field. The itinerary starts from the concepts of thought collective and thought style, and of paradigm, paying attention to the serendipitous character of scientific discovery and to laboratory practices. We will then focus on the social dimension of science and on the approaches linked to the "Strong Programme" of the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK), moving on to the social construction of technology (SCOT) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT). Finally, we will explore the relationship between laboratory and world, and between science and politics, in light of infrastructure studies and the concept of technopolitics.

The question that will accompany us throughout the course concerns the relationship between science, technology and society: in what ways do technologies and material assemblages incorporate political and epistemic components, and in what ways are they in turn shaped by social, cultural and political dynamics?

The monographic focus of this edition is the re-emergence of the debate on nuclear energy and on so-called "clean" nuclear power. "New", "clean", "safe", "sustainable" and "necessary" will be treated as controversial categories, whose construction depends on metrics, models, temporal horizons, infrastructures, regulatory regimes, forms of expertise and local knowledge, political positionings and the configuration of publics.

Prerequisites. No specific prior knowledge of STS is required. A basic familiarity with contemporary history and the social sciences, a willingness to read theoretical texts in English, and the ability to distinguish between types of sources (e.g. academic, institutional, journalistic, etc.) will be helpful.

Teaching materials (slides, assignments, detailed schedule, corpus and selected readings) will be accessible through the course's Virtuale platform (virtuale.unibo.it), which students are required to sign up to.

The course is organised into five modules:

Module I – The origins of STS: transformations of science, transformations of society. The module introduces the field of study starting from its interdisciplinary origins, between scientific activism, the social responsibility of research and environmental movements, retracing the passage from the "Strong Programme" of the sociology of scientific knowledge to relational approaches. We will observe the production of scientific knowledge through the lens of the thought collective and thought style; the notions of normal science, paradigm and scientific community will allow us to understand anomalies, crises and revolutions in light of STS.

Module II – Serendipity, epistemic cultures and technoscientific practices. Here we will address the practical and situated dimension of research: serendipity as a key to understanding unexpected discoveries and the institutional conditions that make them possible, the narration of discovery and the production of evidence. The laboratory becomes the social and material site of the production of facts, where epistemic cultures and technoscientific practices are transformed and consolidated.

Module III – Black boxes, translations, relations: a minimal STS vocabulary. The module builds the updated analytical lexicon of the field: the social construction of technology and the interpretative flexibility of artefacts; sociotechnical systems, inscriptions and de-scriptions; generalised symmetry between humans and non-humans; obligatory passage points, spokespersons and controversies; situated knowledges, orders, multiplicity and enactment, which open onto the plural dimension of technoscientific processes.

Module IV – From the laboratory to the world: infrastructures and technopolitics. The module follows technoscientific knowledge at the boundary between the laboratory and the world. Feminist approaches to technoscience and the ethnography of infrastructures will help us understand the agency of standards and classifications and the processes of invisibilisation of labour. The lens of infrastructures, combined with the technopolitical perspective, allows us to relate the STS discourse to the world and its temporal trajectories.

Module V – STS focus on nuclear energy (practical exercise constituting part of the learning activity). The module will have a laboratory-based, collaborative character, cutting across the whole course. We will devote ourselves to the analysis of the discourse on the "new nuclear", building an up-to-date corpus of sources: institutional and regulatory documents, scientific publications, industry materials, reports by environmental organisations, public consultations, journalistic articles. We will seek to answer the following questions: who defines a nuclear technology as "new" or "clean"? By what criteria is its sustainability measured? Which human and non-human actors compose the network? Which futures are promised and which responsibilities are transferred over time? The laboratory concludes with the presentation and discussion of the analyses, the comparison of controversy maps, and a reflection on the limits and potential of STS analysis.

Readings/Bibliography

Required readings

Module I

• Ludwik Fleck ([1935]1983) Genesi e sviluppo di un fatto scientifico: per una teoria dello stile e del collettivo di pensiero, Bologna, Il Mulino. [English edition: Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact, University of Chicago Press, 1979]
• Robert S. Cohen and Thomas Schnelle (1986) Cognition and Fact. Materials on Ludwik Fleck: chap. 2.6
• Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: chaps. II–IV and IX–X
• David Bloor (1994) La dimensione sociale della conoscenza, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 1994: chap. 1 [English edition: Knowledge and Social Imagery, University of Chicago Press]

Module II

• Robert K. Merton, Elinor Barber (2002) Viaggi e avventure della Serendipity. Saggio di semantica sociologica e sociologia della scienza, Bologna, Il Mulino: chaps. 1 and 10 [English edition: The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity, Princeton University Press, 2004]
• Carlo Ginzburg (1979) "Spie. Radici di un paradigma indiziario", in Miti, emblemi, spie, Torino, Einaudi. [English translation: Ginzburg, Carlo and Davin, Anna (1980) Morelli, Freud and Sherlock Holmes: Clues and Scientific Method, in "History Workshop", (9), pp. 5–36.
• Karin Knorr Cetina, The Manufacture of Knowledge: An Essay on the Constructivist and Contextual Nature of Science, Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1981: chap. 1.
• Bruno Latour, Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts, Princeton University Press, 1986: chap. 2.

Module III

• Annemarie Mol (2010) "Actor-Network Theory: sensitive terms and enduring tensions", in Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie. Sonderheft, 50 (1), pp. 253–269.
• Michel Callon, "Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and the Fishermen of St Brieuc Bay", 1986.
• Madeleine Akrich and Bruno Latour (1992) "A summary of a convenient vocabulary for the semiotics of human and nonhuman assemblies", in Wiebe Bijker and John Law (Eds.), Shaping Technology/Building Society, pp. 259–264.
• Trevor Pinch, Wiebe E. Bijker (1984) "The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts: Or How the Sociology of Science and the Sociology of Technology Might Benefit Each Other", Social Studies of Science, 14(3), pp. 399–441.

Module IV

• Paul N. Edwards, Beaulieu, Anne, Borgman, Christine L., Carse, Ashley, Jackson, Steven J., Williams, Robin, and Silvast, Antti (2024) "Infrastructures", in Ulrike Felt and Alan Irwin (Eds.), Elgar Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Studies, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 328–339.
• Donna Haraway ([1988]2018) Manifesto cyborg. Donne, tecnologie e biopolitiche del corpo, Milano, Feltrinelli, edited by Liana Borghi. [English original: "A Cyborg Manifesto", in Simians, Cyborgs, and Women, Routledge, 1991]
• Susan Leigh Star (1999) "The Ethnography of Infrastructure", American Behavioral Scientist, 43(3).

Module V

[Module V includes the following required readings, to which the materials collected during the course will be added. The corpus of sources will be made available on Virtuale at the beginning of the course and regularly updated. It will include sources representative of different positions, clearly distinguishing between: primary and secondary sources; scientific documents and communication materials; peer-reviewed studies and partisan reports; observed data, forecasting models and scenarios; required documents and supplementary materials.]

• Gabrielle Hecht, "Interscalar Vehicles for an African Anthropocene: On Waste, Temporality, and Violence", Cultural Anthropology, 33(1), 2018 (full article).
• Gabrielle Hecht (2023) Residual Governance: How South Africa Foretells Planetary Futures, Durham, Duke University Press: introduction and chap. 4

Recommended further readings for attending students and supplementary readings for non-attending students:

• Karin Knorr Cetina (1999) Epistemic Cultures: How the Sciences Make Knowledge, Harvard University Press.
• Paul N. Edwards (2003) "Infrastructure and Modernity: Force, Time, and Social Organization in the History of Sociotechnical Systems", in T. J. Misa, P. Brey, A. Feenberg (Eds.), Modernity and Technology, MIT Press, 2003 (full essay).
• Gabrielle Hecht (2009) The Radiance of France: Nuclear Power and National Identity after World War II, The MIT Press.
• Bruno Latour (2005) Reassembling the Social: introduction.
• John Law (1992) "Notes on the theory of the actor-network: Ordering, strategy, and heterogeneity", in Systems Practice, 5 (4), pp. 379–393.
• Robert K. Merton (1979) La Sociologia della Scienza Milano, Franco Angeli, [English translation: The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations (N. W. Storer, Ed.), Chicago, IL, University of Chicago Press.]
• Telmo Pievani (2021) Serendipità, Raffaello Cortina Editore: chaps. 3 and 4

Teaching methods

The course combines: interactive lectures; guided reading of theoretical texts; seminar-style discussions with guest speakers; comparison between concepts and authors; analysis of documents and empirical materials; individual and small-group exercises; short presentations and peer feedback.

The activities require advance preparation of the assigned readings. Participation will not be understood exclusively as the frequency of interventions, but will also include listening, the ability to respond to others' arguments, and the use of language accessible to an interdisciplinary group.

Module V has a laboratory-based character: students will work in groups on the construction of controversy maps, with formative feedback from the instructor and from peers, in preparation for the individual essay.

Assessment methods

The assessment of learning is consistent with the knowledge and skills to be achieved and consists of two compulsory components — a written essay and an oral examination — both graded on a scale of thirty (trentesimi). The essay must be submitted before the exam session; the oral examination takes place during the exam session and includes the discussion of the essay and of the course programme. The exercises and the interim presentation of Module V receive formative feedback and do not constitute a separate assessment.

1. Written essay on a case study

The essay applies STS tools to the case of the "new nuclear" (or to another comparable case agreed upon with the instructor) and must contain: formulation of the research question; delimitation and justification of the corpus of sources; a brief chronology of the controversy; a map of human and non-human actors; identification of spokespersons, alliances and obligatory passage points; a table of the main claims, of the evidence used and of the uncertainties; an analysis of the presupposed infrastructures; an analysis of spatial and temporal scales; a reasoned conclusion. The group work carried out during the exercises has a preparatory function; the essay submitted for assessment is individual.

The essay must be submitted via Virtuale at least 10 days before the exam session for which the student registers. Those who need their work marked by specific deadlines (for example in view of graduation) are asked to indicate this upon submission, in any case allowing at least 20 days for marking.

Writing and editorial guidelines. The guidelines to be followed regarding citations, notes and essay structure are available at this link.

2. Individual oral examination

All oral examinations begin with the presentation of a topic of the student's choice within the course programme. Students should be prepared to speak for about 15 minutes; they may use notes, keep the texts at hand and rely on any resource they may find useful. The chosen topic counts for approximately two thirds of the oral examination. This will be followed by one or two questions from the instructor on other aspects of the programme, concerning a concept or author from the programme; a comparative question between approaches; the application of an STS tool to the nuclear case or to another case addressed in the programme; and the discussion of the submitted essay.

Weighting of the components and distinction between attending and non-attending students. Students who attend at least 75% of the classes are considered attending students.

Attending students:

• Individual essay of 2,000–2,500 words: 40% of the final grade.
• Individual oral examination: 60% of the final grade.

Non-attending students:

• Individual essay of 3,000–3,500 words, based on a more extensive corpus and with an independent reconstruction of the context of the controversy: 50% of the final grade.
• Individual oral examination, also including the discussion of one additional monographic reading chosen from those listed in the bibliography: 50% of the final grade.

Both components must be passed in order to pass the exam. The essay primarily assesses applied and methodological skills; the oral examination assesses theoretical knowledge, comparative ability and independent judgement.

Assessment criteria

The parameters assessed in the essay and the components of the final grade are the following:

1. Understanding of the texts considered (knowledge of the content, ability to grasp the most relevant information and their deeper meaning): up to 10 points out of 30.
2. Correctness of writing (spelling, syntax, punctuation, command of disciplinary and general vocabulary): up to 6 points out of 30.
3. Clarity, thematic relevance, breadth and coherence of the exposition (good structure of the essay, ability to communicate information in a complete and clear manner, without digressing): up to 5 points out of 30.
4. Logical consistency, quality and rigour of the argumentation: up to 4 points out of 30.
5. Originality of ideas and personal reflection (grasping the critical points of the texts, formulating objections, developing the insights present in the texts): up to 4 points out of 30.
6. Participation in class and online discussions: up to 1 point out of 30.

In the oral examination, clarity, grammatical correctness of expression and originality of reflection will also be assessed, broadly according to the parameters indicated for the written essay.

Aids

During the oral examination the use of supporting materials is permitted; students may keep their own essay at hand during the discussion. Due consideration will be given to the linguistic difficulties of Erasmus students or of students whose first language is not Italian; upon request, the essay may be written in English.

Exam sessions

During the academic year 2026/2027, exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: January, February, March, April, May.

Registration for the exam takes place through AlmaEsami, within the established deadlines. The submission of the essay on Virtuale must comply with the 10-day deadline indicated above.

Students with disabilities and SLD (DSA)

Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (SLD) are entitled to special accommodations in relation to their condition, subject to assessment by the University Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the course instructor directly, but contact the Service to arrange an appointment. It will be the Service's responsibility to determine which accommodations are appropriate.

Further information is available at: http://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it/per-studenti

Students are advised to contact the University office well in advance. Any accommodations must in any case be submitted, 15 days in advance, for approval to the instructor, who will assess their appropriateness also in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

Use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in exams

As regards the assessment of learning, a limited, declared and non-substantial use of AI is permitted for support activities (summaries, rephrasing). Substantial use for carrying out parts of the assessment is not permitted.

In particular, for the essay the following are permitted, unless otherwise indicated in the assignment: preliminary generation of keywords or research questions; linguistic support and translation; formal revision of the text; initial organisation of materials already identified and verified by the student.

Any use must be declared in a brief transparency note attached to the essay, specifying: the tool used; the purpose; the parts of the process concerned; the way in which results, citations and references have been verified.

In accordance with the University Policy for an Ethical and Responsible Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Research, responsibility for the content rests entirely with the student, who must be able to account for it (principles of centrality of the human being, honesty and transparency, accountability, accuracy, respect for rights).

It is not acceptable to present non-existent sources, unverified data or substantial automatically generated parts as the autonomous result of one's own work. Personal data, confidential materials or third-party content that cannot be legitimately used must not be entered into generative AI systems. The oral examination contributes to verifying the student's understanding and personal command of the content produced.

Teaching tools

The course is associated with a module on the University's e-learning platform (virtuale.unibo.it). A discussion forum will be activated through the platform; the site will also be used for the distribution of additional materials and for announcements of events, changes to the schedule, etc. Students wishing to take this exam must sign up on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Claudio Coletta