The Center for Science, Technology Medicine and Society (CSTMS) stands in solidarity with the peaceful Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the brutal killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Steven Taylor, Tony McDade, David McAtee, and George Floyd. CSTMS remains firmly committed to centering the voices of Black scholars in Science and Technology Studies… Read more

For the second year in a row, CSTMS has been awarded the France-Berkeley Fund for 2020-2022. The project, “The Emergence of Public Controversies in Science, Technology & Medicine: A New Methodological Paradigm” is led by our affiliates Dr. Elena Conis (UC Berkeley School of Journalism) and Dr. Laura Draetta (Telecom Paris Tech Graduate School). The… Read more

CSTMS Affiliate and Journalism professor Elena Conis, along with graduate students Michael McCoyd and Jessie A. Moravek, have published an op-ed in the New York Times titled “What to Expect When A Coronavirus Vaccine Finally Arrives: Sobering lessons from the history of the polio vaccine.” The article provides insight on the potential challenges we may face should… Read more

CSTMS’s associate director of research, School of Information assistant adjunct professor Morgan Ames, will host weekly virtual co-writing sessions starting on Thursday, May 28th. We will briefly set intentions at the beginning, write from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. PDT with short breaks, then check in at the end. We’ll start with the pomodoro/”shut up and write”… Read more

This special issue commemorates the fiftieth volume of the Historical Studies of Natural Sciences. It is also the first issue under the new HSNS Editorial Board Chair Erika Milam. In the introduction to “Looking Backward, Looking Forward: HSNS at 50”, Milam writes: “With this issue, Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences celebrates the fiftieth volume…. Each subsequent appellation and each… Read more

CSTMS Faculty Affiliate Elena Conis has given a number of interviews over the past month about COVID-19. She notes that the pace of this pandemic has been “unprecedented historically”.  According to Conis, globalization, urbanization and the nature of the virus itself account for its exceptional pace.  Some of her interviews are with ABC-7 News and the National Post.  She has been… Read more

In her Time Magazine article, Conis examines past disease outbreaks like the cholera epidemic of 1832, the bubonic plague of 1900 and, one of the deadliest pandemics, the flu of 1918.  She concludes:  “Each epidemic takes place in its own context. The state of trade in New York in 1832—as well as the city’s infrastructure, wealth,… Read more

The Consortium for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine is currently accepting applications for a number of fellowships, including short-term research fellowships, dissertation fellowships (pre- and post-ABD), residencies, and postdoctoral fellowships. Specific funding opportunities are also available for scholars from Brazil, India and South Africa working in the medical humanities and the history of… Read more

Who denies science? Why? And how does the media perpetuate the trend? This course offers a critical look at the top instances of “science denial” to make news in the last two decades, with an emphasis on four case studies: climate change, vaccines, GMOs, and evolution. We’ll take a critical look at the term “science… Read more

Jameson Karns, CSTMS affiliate and member of the STS D.E. program, was recently featured on “The Graduates”, a KALX radio show that highlights graduate student research at Cal. In the interview, Karns, whose research focuses on North American land management agencies and their impact on the environment, discusses the development of fire management practices in California… Read more