233060 UE Science in Society Laboratories (2025W)

Scientific knowledge and new technologies are changing our societies. On the one hand they open up new possibilities to solve societal problems. On the other hand they also raise questions that have to be discussed, decided and regulated on a societal level. Scientists from all disciplines should be able to participate competently in these discussions. In addition to that, there is hardly any societal debate or political decision-making process happening without the involvement of scientific expertise. Scientific knowledge is expected to provide orientation and to lead to better solutions. Particularly when it comes to controversial topics it is often contested what counts as relevant and reliable knowledge, which societal values should be taken into account and in what ways all of this should be included in political decisions. The capability to identify positions in controversial societal debates, to systematically analyze their relationship to scientific expertise and to give recommendations on that basis is a highly valued qualification in many areas of work (e.g. political consulting, science communication, etc. ).

In small groups, students will analyse a specific controversy during the semester. These cases are debates around urban heat, artificial sweeteners such as Aspertame, and CO2 compensation. Step-by-step and in close interaction with the lecturer and tutor, the students will learn approaches and tools to analyze these debates, apply them and receive feedback. They will search for documents, identify positions and conduct expert interviews. They will learn to prepare the results of their analyses in various formats, to present and discuss them.

What will students learn in this course?
- Concepts and tools to analyze the interplay of science, technology and society.
- The application of the newly gained skills in working on specific debates at the intersection of science, technology and society.
- The techniques of research as well as the assessment and preparation of information.
- Thinking and collaborating in interdisciplinary contexts.
- Developing the ability to reflect on one’s own disciplinary perspective.
- Developing the ability to understand and judge the entanglement of societal values and scientific expertise in the debates as well as the implications for questions of responsibility.