230160 UK Science, Technology, Risk and Disaster (2010W)

This undergraduate lecture/discussion introduces students to the study of risk and disaster in Science and Technology Studies. Natural and anthropogenic (man-made) disasters have been prominently featured in international news and popular media over the last half-century.
Beginning with Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" (1962), critical scholarly accounts have framed advances in industrial and military science & technology combined with entrenched ideological/cultural interest as the catalyst for such disasters as Chernobyl (1986), the crash of the Space Shuttle Challenger (1986), and the destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina (2005). Recent techno-science debates address the ongoing risks associated with Global Warming and Dimming, the spread of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, genetically modified foods, the depletion of natural resources vital for human habitation, and even the recent wars in the Middle East. Aside from reviewing the variety of dimensions to the study of risk and disaster mentioned above, students will be challenged to imagine how a study of risk and disaster can be applied to their own academic and personal interests.