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Science Studies between economic growth, social needs and critique
Wissenschaftsforschung: Zwischen ökonomischem Wachstum, sozialen Bedürfnissen und Kritik
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:29:06
Abstract
Science has become a subject of research in its own right since the 20th century: the field of "science studies" examines the organization of science, its social benefits, its contribution to economic growth or its impact on people and nature. The seminar introduces the history of this research and sheds light on its applied and critical dimensions.
Objective
Using historical sources from the field of science studies, students learn to understand societal expectations and criticisms of the sciences in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Content
The value of science for social and economic development has been an issue of debate since the 20th century. At the same time, science became a subject of research in its own right: the sociology of science in the 1930s dealt with the social benefits ("Science for Social Needs") and the organization of science. Since the 1950s, the research field of the "Science of Science" has quantified scientific publications ("Science Citation Index") and attempted to measure the relationship between research and innovation, between education and economic growth (OECD studies). Science seemed to promise scientific and technological progress, innovation and economic growth - both in the industrialized countries and, with the help of "technology transfer", to the then so-called "developing countries". At the same time, in the field of "technology assessment", the sciences were criticized for causing risks and damages to humans and nature (e.g. through pesticides or biotechnology) or entailing effects of social inequality. The fact that the sciences have been the subject of debate since the 20th century is not only a matter of general public interest. It is also the effect of the development and funding of research fields that deal with measures to increase innovation or with the benefits and risks of science. The seminar deals with the history of this research in its political and economic contexts as well as in its applied and critical function. It examines the knowledge on which historical and current expectations of science in politics and society are based.
Resources
Literature
Sources (selection): – J.D. Bernal: The Social Function of Science (1939) – Derek de Solla Price: Little Science, Big Science (1963) – Hilary Rose & Steven Rose: Science and Society (1969) – Christopher Freeman: Economics of Research and Development (1977) – Ziauddin Sardar, Dawud G. Rosser-Owen: Science Policy and Developing Countries (1977) – Gernot Böhme, Wolfgang van den Daele, Rainer Hohlfeld, Wolfgang Krohn, Wolf Schäfer, Tilman Spengler: Die gesellschaftliche Orientierung des wissenschaftlichen Fortschritts (1978) – Donna Haraway: Class, Race, Sex, Scientific Objects of Knowledge (1982) Secondary literature (selection): – Gerardo Ienna: The Double Legacy of Bernalism in Science Diplomacy (2022) – Elena Aronova: Scientometrics with and without Computers: The Cold War Transnational Journeys of the Science Citation Index (2016) – Elena Aronova & Simone Turchetti: Science Studies During the Cold War and Beyond (2017) – Ariane Leendertz: "Finalisierung der Wissenschaft". Wissenschaftstheorie in den politischen Deutungskämpfen der Bonner Republik (2013) – David Edgerton: The Political Economy of Science. Prospects and Retrospects (2017)
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- DS , MSC
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
- Max Places
- 25
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| seminar | Wissenschaftsforschung: Zwischen ökonomischem Wachstum, sozialen Bedürfnissen und Kritik |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Science in Perspective (In “Science in Perspective”-courses students learn to reflect on ETH’s STEM subjects from the perspective of humanities, political and social sciences. Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "Science in Perspective" courses.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (SiP courses are recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. All SiP courses are listed in Type A. Courses listed under Type B are only recommendations for enrollment for specific departments.)
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