Program on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard

Harvard Kennedy School of Government | Harvard University

Research

The Program on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard Kennedy School offers a home for cross-disciplinary research on many aspects of science and technology in contemporary societies. For more information, please follow the links below.

Current Projects

Global Observatory for Genome Editing

The Global Observatory brings together a curated collection of work centrally related to genome editing and other technologies bearing on the human future. These include scholarship, reports, significant media events, legal cases and expressions of creative thought that probe the meaning of humanness in light of advances in science and technology. Visit the Observatory.


Comparative COVID Response

Comparative Covid Response: Crisis, Knowledge, Policy (CompCoRe) is a comparative study of national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic from a science and technology studies (STS) perspective. Led by Sheila Jasanoff (Harvard University) and Stephen Hilgartner (Cornell University), the core research team comprises researchers from five continents and sixteen countries. Visit the CompCoRe site.

Governance of Sociotechnical Transformations

The research project Governance of Sociotechnical Transformations (GoST) focuses on historical and prospective transformations in systems of energy, agriculture, and urban digital infrastructure. The project examines past and prospective transformation efforts across the three areas of energy, agriculture, and urban digital environments, in five countries (Germany, India, Kenya, UK and US). A key concept for the project, and one which is being used as a theoretical starting point, is that of ‘sociotechnical imaginaries’ within Science and Technology Studies (STS). Visit the GoST site.

Publications

Books that have developed out of research by affiliates of the Program on Science, Technology and Society.

Bio + Society Collaboratory

bio+society collaboratory
The Bio + Society Collaboratory seeks to strengthen and grow a network of STS scholars who share topical concerns and methodological approaches, theoretical commitments and disciplinary orientations. The Collaboratory  is a research network that features research profiles and publications and highlights collaborations between affiliated members.

Policy Reports and Commentaries

A list of recent policy report and commentaries authored or co-authored by people associated with the Program on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard Kennedy School.
"Taking European Knowledge Society Seriously"

Projects

A partial list of past and current projects conducted under the auspices of the Program on Science, Technology and Society:

Research Platforms

Interactive research platforms offers an introduction to key theoretical concepts developed in the Program on Science and Technology Studies (STS) at the Harvard Kennedy School:

These platforms are a new part of the website, and a work in progress. Please feel free to send feedback to the site administrator with any thoughts or comments you may have about them, or if you find them useful.