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An Introduction to Science
and Technology Studies
Second Edition
Sergio Sismondo
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Praise for the first edition
“This book is a wonderful tool with which to think.
It offers an expansive introduction to the field of science
studies, a rich exploration of the theoretical terrains it
comprises and a sheaf of well-reasoned opinions that
will surely inspire argument.”
Geoffrey C. Bowker, University of California, San Diego
“Sismondo’s Introduction to Science and Technology Studies,...
for anyone of whatever age and background starting
out in STS, must be the first-choice primer: a resourceful,
enriching book that will speak to many of the successes,
challenges, and as-yet-untackled problems of science studies.
If the introductory STS course you teach does not fit
his book, change your course.”
Jane Gregory, ISIS, 2007
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An Introduction to Science
and Technology Studies
Second Edition
Sergio Sismondo
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This second edition first published 2010
© 2010 Sergio Sismondo
Edition history: Blackwell Publishing Ltd (1e, 2004)
Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s
publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical
business to form Wiley-Blackwell.
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how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our
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The right of Sergio Sismondo to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sismondo, Sergio.
An introduction to science and technology studies / Sergio Sismondo. – 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4051-8765-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Science–Philosophy. 2. Science–Social aspects. 3. Technology–Philosophy.
4. Technology–Social aspects. I. Title.
Q175.S5734 2010
501–dc22 2009012001
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Set in 10/12.5pt Galliard by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
Printed in Singapore
1 2010
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Contents
Preface vii
1 The Prehistory of Science and Technology Studies 1
2 The Kuhnian Revolution 12
3 Questioning Functionalism in the Sociology of Science 23
4 Stratification and Discrimination 36
5 The Strong Programme and the Sociology of Knowledge 47
6 The Social Construction of Scientific and Technical Realities 57
7 Feminist Epistemologies of Science 72
8 Actor-Network Theory 81
9 Two Questions Concerning Technology 93
10 Studying Laboratories 106
11 Controversies 120
12 Standardization and Objectivity 136
13 Rhetoric and Discourse 148
14 The Unnaturalness of Science and Technology 157
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vi Contents
15 The Public Understanding of Science 168
16 Expertise and Public Participation 180
17 Political Economies of Knowledge 189
References 205
Index 236
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Preface
Science & Technology Studies (STS) is a dynamic interdisciplinary field, rapidly
becoming established in North America and Europe. The field is a result
of the intersection of work by sociologists, historians, philosophers, anthro-
pologists, and others studying the processes and outcomes of science,
including medical science, and technology. Because it is interdisciplinary, the
field is extraordinarily diverse and innovative in its approaches. Because it
examines science and technology, its findings and debates have repercussions
for almost every understanding of the modern world.
This book surveys a group of terrains central to the field, terrains that
a beginner in STS should know something about before moving on. For
the most part, these are subjects that have been particularly productive
in theoretical terms, even while other subjects may be of more immediate
practical interest. The emphases of the book could have been different, but
they could not have been very different while still being an introduction
to central topics in STS.
An Introduction to Science and Technology Studies should provide an
overview of the field for any interested reader not too familiar with STS’s
basic findings and ideas. The book might be used as the basis for an upper-
year undergraduate, or perhaps graduate-level, course in STS. But it might
also be used as part of a trajectory of more focused courses on, say, the social
study of medicine, STS and the environment, reproductive technologies,
science and the military, or science and public policy. Because anybody putting
together such courses would know how those topics should be addressed
– or certainly know better than does the author of this book – these topics
are not addressed here.
However the book is used, it should almost certainly be alongside a
number of case studies, and probably alongside a few of the many articles
mentioned in the book. The empirical examples here are not intended to
