Making Sense of Science

Steven Yearley is Professor of Sociology at the University of York; author of Science and Sociological Practice (Open University Press, 1984), Science Technology and Social Change (Unwin Hyman, 1988) and The Green Case: A Sociology of Environmental Arguments, Issues and Politics (Harper Collins, 1991); editor of Deciphering Science and Technology (with M McNeill and I Varcoe), and Protecting the Periphery: Environmental Policy in Peripheral Regions of the European Union (with S Baker and K Milton).

Excellent overview of science studies, useful as background reading for debates underpinning the course

• PART ONE: THE CORE OF SCIENCE STUDIESJust What Makes Science SpecialFraming Commitments: The Strong Programme and the Empirical Programme of RelativisimPART TWO: SCHOOLS OF SCIENCE STUDIESKnowledge and Social InterestActor-Networks in ScienceGender and Science StudiesEthnomethodology and the Analysis of Scientific DiscourseReflection, Explanation and Reflexivity in Science StudiesPART THREE: SCIENCE STUDIES AT WORKExperts in Public: Publics′ Relationships to Scientific AuthorityFiguring out RisksScience in LawSpeaking Truth to Power: Science and PolicyConclusion: Science Studies and the ′Crisis′ of Representation