STS 3181 - Living in an Uncertain World: Science, Technology, and Risk

(crosslisted) AMST 3185, BSOC 3181, HIST 3181
(HA-AS, HST-AS) (CU-SBY)

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

R. Slayton.

This course explores the history, sociology, and ethics of risk. In particular, we will focus on the complex and often ambiguous relationship between science, technology, and risk. A historical perspective shows how science and technology have generated risks while they have also played key roles in managing and solving those very risks. By examining several case studies, including 19th-century mining, the 1911 Triangle fire, nuclear science, the space shuttle disasters, asbestos litigation, Hurricane Katrina, and the contemporary financial crisis, we will consider how risk and ideas about risk have changed over time. By exploring different historical and cultural responses to risk, we will examine the sociopolitical dimensions of the definitions, perceptions, and management of risk both in the past and the present.