Science, culture and society: understanding science in the 21st Century

What is science? Science, Culture and Society tackles this difficult question. We used to be quite certain about science, and science used to be quite certain about the world: it was the form of knowledge and set of practical activities that would allow us to unravel the 'mysteries of creation' and the 'laws of nature'. Yet despite the important contribution made by science to today's knowledge economies and knowledge societies, it is considered by many to be remote, and even dangerous. As science becomes more important, we have less understanding of what science actually is. Science, Culture and Society attempts to redress this knowledge gap and to provide an alternative framework for making sense of science. The book addresses key questions of what science is and how it is carried out, what the relationship between science and society is, how science is represented in contemporary culture, and how scientific institutions are structured. Drawing on methods from cultural studies and sociology the book locates science in a social and cultural perspective and provides a wide-ranging introduction to the social and cultural dimensions of science. Designed as a primary text for undergraduates at all levels it will be key reading on courses in the sociology of science, cultural studies of science and technology, philosophy of science, and science and technology studies.