Summary
Contents
Subject index
`Fluid, readable and accessible ... I found the overall quality of the book to be excellent. It provides an overview of major (and preceding) developments in the field of science studies. It examines landmark works, authors, concepts and approaches ... I will certainly use this book as one of the course texts' Eileen Crist, Associate Professor, Science & Technology in Society, Virginia Tech Science is at the heart of contemporary society and is therefore central to the social sciences. Yet science studies has often encountered resistance from social scientists. This book attempts to remedy this by giving the most extensive, thorough and best argued account of the field and explaining to social scientists why science matters to them.This is a landmark book that demystifies science studies and successfully bridges the divide between social theory and the sociology of science. Illustrated with relevant, illuminating examples, it provides the ideal guide to science studies and social theory.
Figuring Out Risks
Figuring Out Risks
Introduction: Risk, Science and Social Theory
Risk is the one topic from within the core traditions of science studies that is now widely discussed in the broader sociology and social theory literature. The aim of this chapter is to show how an understanding of risk from the point of view of science studies deepens the general sociological interpretation of riskiness and indeed leads us to reconsider the views of some leading theorists. It is clear from the outset that the connection between the language of risk and that of science is intimate. Society's practices in relation to risk typically express the idea that risks can be measured and weighed objectively. Objective analyses of risk are offered as the appropriate way of ...
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