Science & Technology Studies (STS)Arts and Sciences

Showing 32 results.

Course descriptions provided by the 2026-2027 Catalog.

Last Updated

  • Schedule of Classes - October 15, 2026 7:07PM EDT

STS 1126
FWS: Science and Society Topics

This seminar explores the ways in which Science and Society shape one another and provides the opportunity to write extensively about this mutual shaping. Topics vary by section. view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • Topic: FWS: “Body” in Medicine & Healing

  •  3011 STS 1126   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Chaudhuri, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.

Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • Topic: FWS: Social Studies of Medicine

  •  3012 STS 1126   SEM 102

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Chaudhuri, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.

Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • Topic: FWS:Terms&Conditions Apply-Medicine &Soc in Sci-Fi

  •  3013 STS 1126   SEM 103

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Jeon, H

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.

STS 1140
What's the Big Idea? Race

This course offers a multidisciplinary introductory survey of the constructions and uses of ideas and practices of race from the 15th century to the present. The first third explores the question of when ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion.

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8667 STS 1140   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Chresfield, M

      Michener, J

      Seth, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  8668 STS 1140   DIS 201

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Chresfield, M

      Michener, J

      Seth, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  8669 STS 1140   DIS 202

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Chresfield, M

      Michener, J

      Seth, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 1180
Evolution

Evolution is the central unifying concept in biology. This course examines evolution as a science and places it in an historical context. Classes focus on descent with modification, natural selection, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BIOEE 1180

  • 3 Credits GradeNoAud

  •  5333 STS 1180   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Reed, R

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 2011
What Is Science? An Introduction to the Social Studies of Science and Technology

This course introduces some central ideas in the field of S&TS. It is aimed at students from any background who are challenged to think more critically about what counts as scientific knowledge and why, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: SOC 2100

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  8605 STS 2011   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Marshall, O

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    To add yourself to the waitlist, see https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQ1-1f0OqZZXSPMZaN0C2rMteYYdiGnrqY_ssSNe_Pc5brvw/viewform?usp=pp_url.

  •  8606 STS 2011   DIS 201

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Marshall, O

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  8607 STS 2011   DIS 202

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  8608 STS 2011   DIS 203

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  8609 STS 2011   DIS 204

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Marshall, O

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  8610 STS 2011   DIS 205

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Marshall, O

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 2061
Ethics and the Environment

Politicians, scientists, and citizens worldwide face many environmental issues today, but they are neither simple nor straightforward. Moreover, there are many ways to understand how we have, do, and could ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: BSOC 2061, PHIL 2960

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  8583 STS 2061   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Parrenas, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    If you are unable to enroll, please add yourself to the waitlist: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc91BggH--E_bZgqqqM--ISUz5xkL80aD1Mh0y-zulyGRXf8Q/viewform?usp=pp_url.

  •  8584 STS 2061   DIS 201

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Parrenas, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  8585 STS 2061   DIS 202

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Parrenas, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  8586 STS 2061   DIS 203

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Parrenas, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  8587 STS 2061   DIS 204

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Parrenas, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 2131
Science Fiction

Science fiction is not merely a literary genre but a whole way of being, thinking, and acting in the modern world. This course explores classic and contemporary science fiction from Frankenstein to The ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 2131, COML 2035, ENGL 2035

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17096 STS 2131   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Banerjee, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 2316
Debating Technological Revolutions: The Steam Engine vs. AI

The course aims to put the current AI “revolution” in historical context by examining in depth the so-called first industrial revolution, which began in Britain and spread around the world from c. 1780-1880. ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 2816

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  8664 STS 2316   LEC 001

  •  
    • T
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Ratcliff, J

    • R
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Ratcliff, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 2451
Introduction to Bioethics

Bioethics is the study of ethical questions raised by advances in the medical field. Questions we'll discuss will include: Is it morally permissible to advance a patient's death, at his or her request, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: PHIL 2455, SHUM 2455

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 14969 STS 2451   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Markovits, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 14970 STS 2451   DIS 201

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 14971 STS 2451   DIS 202

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 14972 STS 2451   DIS 203

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 2468
Medicine, Culture, and Society

Medicine has become the language and practice through which we address a broad range of both individual and societal complaints. Interest in this medicalization of life may be one of the reasons that medical ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: ANTHR 2468, BSOC 2468, FGSS 2468

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  4614 STS 2468   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Hodzic, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  4615 STS 2468   DIS 201

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  4616 STS 2468   DIS 202

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  4617 STS 2468   DIS 203

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  4618 STS 2468   DIS 204

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  4619 STS 2468   DIS 205

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  •  4620 STS 2468   DIS 206

  •  
    • F
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 2812
Hieroglyphs to HTML: History of Writing

An introduction to the history and theory of writing systems from cuneiform to the alphabet, historical and new writing media, and the complex relationship of writing technologies to human language and ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •  5990 STS 2812   LEC 001

  •  
    • MWF
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Kirk, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    This is part of the Cornell Prison Education Program (CPEP).

STS 2851
Communication, Environment, Science, and Health

Environmental problems, public health issues, scientific research-in each of these areas, communication plays a fundamental role. From the media to individual conversations, from technical journals to ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: COMM 2850

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6251 STS 2851   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Schuldt, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 3241
Environmental Sociology

Humans have fraught relationships with the animals, plants, land, water-even geological processes-around us. In this course, we will examine how people make and respond to environmental change and how ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GDEV 3240, SOC 3240

  • 3 Credits GradeNoAud

  • 13519 STS 3241   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Zinda, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 3460
Anthropology of the Body

This class considers the relationship between the body, knowledge and experience. We investigate the production and reproduction of the body across different times and spaces. Students examine specific ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ANTHR 3465, BSOC 3460, SHUM 3465

  • 3 Credits GradeNoAud

  •  4629 STS 3460   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Langwick, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 3561
Computing Cultures

Computers are powerful tools for working, playing, thinking, and living. Laptops, PDAs, webcams, cell phones, and iPods are not just devices, they also provide narratives, metaphors, and ways of seeing ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •  8643 STS 3561   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Ziewitz, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 3601
Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice

This course surveys a range of ethical issues that arise in professional engineering, and provides discussion-based practice in analyzing and addressing them. Using normative frameworks from professional ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ENGRG 3600, PHIL 2471

  • 3 Credits Opt NoAud

  • 13331 STS 3601   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Goetze, T

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 3911
Science in American Politics

This course reviews the changing relations between science, technology, and the state in America, focusing on the period from 1960 to the present. We will explore science-intensive policy controversies. ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AMST 3911, GOVT 3091

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  8617 STS 3911   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Hilgartner, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 3991
Undergraduate Independent Study

Applications for research projects are accepted by individual STS faculty members. Students may enroll for 1-4 credits in STS 3991 with written permission of the faculty supervisor and may elect either ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Project Session Full. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8620 STS 3991   IND 601

    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

    See https://as.cornell.edu/registrar/independent-study for more information on applying for Independent Study.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

STS 4040
Digital Due Process Clinic

Automated scoring systems play an increasingly important role in ordering our lives. Whether we want to obtain a loan, rent an apartment, be found in search results, qualify for government assistance, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  8652 STS 4040   SEM 101

    • T
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Ziewitz, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    See https://dueprocess.sts.cornell.edu/information-for-students/ to apply.

    Department Consent Required (Add)

STS 4116
The Scientific Revolution

This seminar investigates the period of the so-called “scientific revolution.” As a foundational narrative of modernity, the scientific revolution posits a radical break from a medieval past, best exemplified ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one seminar and one independent study. Combined with: BSOC 4116, HIST 4116

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 10580 STS 4116   SEM 101

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Schneider, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 10581 STS 4116   IND 601

  •  
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Schneider, J

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

STS 4412
Conceptions of the Body in Medicine and Healing

The working of the human body is a universal phenomenon, yet different medical traditions have vastly different conceptions of what a body is. How can something so intimate and tangible like the body be ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 4412

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  8658 STS 4412   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Chaudhuri, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 4506
Ocean Technopolitics and Global Futures

This course examines the profound and far-reaching politics and dynamics generated by ocean technologies and infrastructures in this age of globalization and Anthropocene. It adopts an empirical ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASIAN 4506, BSOC 4506

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  8661 STS 4506   SEM 101

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Wu, L

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 4670
Race and Justice After DNA

DNA has become a pervasive feature of our lives, and a critical object through which race and justice are imagined and contested. DNA shapes how we think about ancestral pasts, medical futures, identity, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •  8653 STS 4670   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Tamarkin, N

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 4685
Early Modern Universities

This course focuses on one of early modern Europe’s most influential and contentious institutions: the university. Universities were central pillars of premodern European society and played host to some ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one seminar and one independent study. Combined with: HIST 4685

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 10588 STS 4685   SEM 101

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Webb, E

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 10589 STS 4685   IND 601

  •  
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

STS 4753
Science in Crisis?

The title of this course uses the single word “crisis” to pose two overlapping questions: First, how do scientists cope with the threats to their credibility posed by the surge of populism and ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SHUM 4753

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  8670 STS 4753   SEM 101

  •  
    • T
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Davis, C

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 4992
Honors Project II

Students must register for the 4 credits each semester (BSOC 4991-BSOC 4992) for a total of 8 credits. After the first semester, students receive a letter grade of R; a letter grade for both semesters ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 4992

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  8649 STS 4992   RSC 701

    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Directed Research

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

STS 6121
Graduate Seminar in Environmental History

This graduate seminar offers an introduction to environmental history: the study of human interactions with nonhuman nature in the past. It is a subfield within the historical discipline that has complex ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 6221

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8650 STS 6121   SEM 101

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Pritchard, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 6311
Qualitative Research Methods for Studying Science, Technology, and Medicine

In this Graduate seminar we will discuss the nature, politics and basic assumptions underlying qualitative research. We will examine a selection of qualitative methods ranging from interviewing, oral history, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SOC 6310

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  8628 STS 6311   SEM 101

  •  
    • T
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Tamarkin, N

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 6460
Bodies and Bodiliness

In this graduate level course, we will take the body and bodiliness as spaces of ethnographic engagement and questioning. Discussion, text and other materials in this class will invite students to consider ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ANTHR 6465

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 17090 STS 6460   SEM 101

  •  
    • T
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Langwick, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 7001
Science Studies and the Politics of Science

The field of Science & Technology Studies (STS) has called attention to the contingent and socially embedded character of knowledge and technology. This seminar explores the consequences of these findings ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8642 STS 7001   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Hilgartner, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 7007
STS Research II: A Course for Second-Year PhD Students in the Field

The goal of this year-long course is to train students in the process of conducting research in STS, providing hands on experience and discussions of the research process. Students will plan and execute ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 2 Credits Multi-Term

  •  8660 STS 7007   SEM 101

    • T
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Wang, Y

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

    Department Consent Required (Add)

STS 7319
Reassembling Sound: Material, Labor, and Play

This graduate seminar invites students to critically engage with sound not merely as an object of analysis but as a material practice embedded in labor, technology, and creative experimentation. Drawing ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: MUSIC 7319

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  8666 STS 7319   SEM 101

  •  
    • W
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Wang, Y

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

STS 7937
Proseminar in Peace Studies

The Proseminar in Peace Studies offers a multidisciplinary review of issues related to peace and conflict at the graduate level. The course is led by the director of the Judith Reppy Institute for Peace ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GOVT 7937, HIST 7937

  • 2 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 13708 STS 7937   SEM 101

  •  
    • R
    • Jan 25 - May 11, 2027

    • Slayton, R

  • Instruction Mode: In Person