Science Studies

Science Studies is a well-established interdisciplinary field that employs the perspectives of the humanities and social science to examine the development of science, medicine, and technology. Science and its allied fields have become defining features of modern societies: shaping intellectual controversies, guiding industrial development, undergirding political authority, and transforming the way that people treat their bodies and conceive of their identities. The development of these sciences has also been central to the creation of the modern university and to the division of knowledge into disciplinary practices. Understanding how the sciences achieved this remarkable position demands a variety of historical and sociological tools, as well as attention to science’s representational practices. The Science Studies cluster is for students who are interested in supplementing their disciplinary learning with attention to the transformations wrought by science, medicine, and technology.

Prospective students interested in graduate studies in the field of science studies can apply to Northwestern University via the Science Studies Cluster. This new interdisciplinary initiative enables students to pursue a Ph.D. in such Departments as History, Sociology, Art History, Political Science, Communication Studies, or English, while also taking a series of coordinated courses that explore the history, social context, and the representational practices that guide the development of science, medicine, and technology. They also join the activities of the current Science Studies Graduate Affiliates, including the Klopsteg lecture series (talks by distinguished visitors in the field of science studies) and the Doctoral Colloquium (professional development activities for doctoral students).

The cluster program operates under the umbrella of the Science in Human Culture program (SHC), an interdisciplinary program that was founded in the 1980s and reorganized along interdisciplinary lines in 1994. The program offers a forum for scholars and students in the humanities and social sciences to examine the history, social context, and representational practices that guide the development of science, medicine, and technology. For more information, including details on participating faculty, current and former graduate students in the program, and graduate course offerings, see http://www.shc.northwestern.edu.

How to participate
Graduate student applicants to Northwestern who would like to participate in this cluster should indicate their interest when they apply to their respective graduate programs. Information on cluster requirements for participating graduate students can be found by visiting the cluster requirements page.

Students admitted directly to the cluster and a department are designated as "cluster fellows" and are provided with two years of fellowship as part of their five-year funding package. Students are also eligible for funds from SHC to conduct research and attend conferences.

In addition, there are many different ways for faculty and students to participate in the intellectual life of the cluster. Information on events sponsored by the Science in Human Culture (SHC) program can be found at www.shc.northwestern.edu.

Cluster events, such as talks by visiting lecturers and conferences, are open to all members of the University. Cluster seminars are open to graduate students across the University. Graduate students who are not cluster fellows may want to become Graduate Affiliates and participate in the Science Studies Doctoral Colloquium.
For more information, see http://www.shc.northwestern.edu/graduate/index.html. Questions about the Science Studies cluster should be directed to Prof. Steven Epstein, s-epstein@northwestern.edu.