Admission requirements
This course is part of the BSc Science for Sustainable Societies (SfSS). The course is an obligatory course for students who are admitted to the BSc Science for Sustainable Societies. It has no further requirements.
Description
Science and technology are indispensable resources for addressing the grand challenges of our age, including sustainability. Yet, how can we understand the role of science and technology in modern societies and how they shape and are shaped by our social realities?
In this course, you will be introduced to key ideas in the field of Science, Technology, and Society (sometimes referred to as Science and Technology Studies (STS)), that claim scientific knowledge is not produced in a vacuum: the very questions scientists ask, the research that gets funded, and the technologies that get developed are shaped by cultural contexts, power structures, and economic interests. From the funding mechanisms that determine which scientific questions get explored, to the sometimes fraught relations between scientific communities and industrial stakeholders. In this course we will unpack how knowledge is created, deployed, and contested around contemporary sustainability science and technology.
This leads us to explore, for instance, how scientific traditions co-evolve with various stakeholders, how science and industry interact, and why a purely curiosity-driven approach to science is no longer sufficient. You will be introduced to a number of themes, including how evidence gets contested by industry and other actors, the challenges of combining different forms of expertise, and the growing imperative for responsible research and innovation.
By engaging with case studies and controversies, you will develop critical thinking skills that go beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. You will learn to see science not just as a method of understanding the world, but as a dynamic, socially embedded practice that has profound implications for our collective future.
Course objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you are able to:
Content:
Understand how science, technology, and society are mutually constituted and co-produced, rather than existing as separate, independent domains.
Apply specific theoretical frameworks to examine and analyse contemporary science and technology issues and cases.
Explain the role of uncertainty and disagreement in science and technology, including how they create conditions for competing knowledge claims and forms of expertise.
Recognise and understand different modes of participation in science and technology, including invited and uninvited forms of engagement and science-industry relations.
Methods/skills:
Critically read the course literature and extract the main message from a text.
Write a frame analysis report presenting qualitative data and present it orally.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable. Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in. Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Mode of instruction
This course has in-person lectures and in-person practical sessions.
Preparation before classes and active participation in classes are fundamental for the success of our programme. In Science for Sustainable Societies we stimulate discussions and participation in classes so that everyone can bring and share their experience, values, and opinions with their peers. For this reason, there is a mandatory attendance. Please see the course manual on Brightspace for the specific rules concerning attendance in this course.
If you have medical, family, or other personal circumstances that make it difficult to attend class, please contact the study advisor.
Assessment method
Assessment
This course has the following assessments:
Work-group presentation - summarising readings of that week using a CALQ format (20% of grade)
Group assignment on science and technology controversy (40% of grade)
End-of-course examination comprising open and closed questions (40% of grade)
More information about these assessments will be provided on Brightspace.
Weighing
The final grade for the course is determined by the weighted average of above mentioned assessments. The final grade is expressed as a number between 1 and 10, rounded to the nearest half. The rounding process is only applied at the end for the final calculation. The minimum grade to pass a course is a 5.5. In uSis, this will be registered as a 6.0. Please note that final grades between a 5.45-5.49 will be rounded as a 5.0.
Please note, the minimum grade for a partial grade is a 5.0, unless otherwise stated.
Resit
All the SfSS courses have two or more assessments. You will always be given the opportunity to resit an exam, if this is needed to pass the course. However, please note that there might not be a resit opportunity for each of the other assessment(s). Please see the course manual on Brightspace for all details concerning the assessments and resit opportunities.
Inspection and feedback
Via Brightspace and/or in class, students are informed about when and how they can inspect their graded assessment and receive feedback.
Course materials
Reading materials
Sarah R Davies, Science Societies, Bristol University Press, 2025.
Linda Soneryd and Goran Sundqvist, Science and Democracy, Bristol University Press, 2025.
Several selected papers and course materials prepared by the course tutors.
Science Skills Platform on Brightspace, module Presentation.
Other reading materials will be made available on Brightspace.
Science Skills Platform
Some of the Science for Sustainable Societies courses make use of the Science Skills Platform. The Science Skills Platform is a digital skills learning environment on Brightspace. With more than 100 skills modules available, you can work on the academic and transferable skills you encounter during your studies whenever and wherever you want. In some of our courses, the modules on the platform will be part of the course materials. You can find the platform on Brightspace.
Registration
All first-year bachelor students will be registered by the Student Services Centre (SSC) for the lectures, tutorials, and the exam (excluding re-sits) of the courses offered in the first semester. For the second semester courses and all re-sits students must register themselves for all course components (lectures, tutorials, exams, and re-sits) in MyStudyMap. You can register up to 5 days prior to the start of a course and up to 10 days prior to an exam or re-sit.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
For more information about the procedures and deadlines, see the enrolment procedure.
Please note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/re-sit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/re-sit.
Brightspace
Brightspace is the digital learning environment of Leiden University. Brightspace gives access to course announcements and electronic study material. Assignments will also be submitted in Brightspace. Students are advised to check Brightspace daily to remain informed about rooms, schedules, deadlines, and details of assignments. Lecturers assume that all students read information posted on Brightspace.
Please log in with your ULCN-account and personal password. On the left you will see an overview of My Courses.
You need to be enrolled for the respective courses to access them on Brightspace.
Contact
Course coordinator: Alex Rushforth
Study advisors: Kiki Boomgaard and Marisa Beunk
Remarks
BYOD and software
The BSc Science for Sustainable Societies has a ‘Bring Your Own Device’ policy. The Faculty of Science uses the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.