Being entirely new to the world of Science and Technology Studies (STS), I am both at a disadvantage and an advantage. My disadvantage of course is my inexperience and ignorance. I have much to learn, and I can be certain that in the future I will look back on what I write today with a completely different perspective. It’s entirely possible that I will someday disagree with myself.
However I also hold a certain advantage. Compared to my more experienced and knowledgable colleagues, my biases are those of an outsider, of the uninitiated and the un-indoctrinated. With fresh eyes I can see things in a way that those ahead of me (and my future self) could not.
Why does this matter? Because as I entered the world of Science and Technology Studies, it was obvious to me as soon as I walked through the door that there was an elephant in the room. STS has a huge problem – and no one is willing to admit it.
STS’s Big Problem
Science and Technology Studies is not prospering and is undervalued by the outside world. Relative to other academic fields of study it remains small, disorganized, and lacking in leadership. Some programs appear on the defensive to stay alive and maintain their sovereignty from related disciplines. In the world and even within academia it is surprisingly unknown or ignored. Interest from the outside is low, and resources are scarce.
But it’s also obvious to me that this shouldn’t be the case. STS is one of the absolute most important areas of interest and concern to the entire population of the world right now. Turn on the radio, or scan the internet for 2 minutes and you will find deep discussions and debates about science and technology in society, with audiences eager to call in or post their comments. Look through a library or bookstore at the new and popular non-fiction, and you will see an array of bestsellers that dive into topics on the impacts of new innovations, such as teenagers’ social media lives, autonomous robots and AI, ethics of bioengineering and genetic modification, and how big data is used to predict and influence our behavior. For decades we have seen blockbuster movies hit the big screen that successfully took on deep philosophical issues with science and technology, becoming both popular and profitable. From TED talks to green energy to global economies to cybersecurity; from lead in water supplies to drones on battlefields to iPads in classrooms: believe me, the world is incredibly interested. But STS, as it currently exists, is nowhere to be found.
It’s possible, however, that STS is actually in the best position to contribute to these discussions, bringing with it an interdisciplinary, research-based approach that can bring mature and solid perspectives into such debates. Its professional and thoughtful approach could add the much-needed objectivity to topics that too often decay into ideological conflict.
The problem is simple: STS needs the world, and the world needs STS; but they are strangers. From where I stand, the cause (and the solution) is also clear: STS is putting no effort at all into marketing itself.
What is STS? Why does it matter? What value does it provide? These are all questions that should be easy to answer, and everyone in STS should be able to answer them confidently and consistently. But right now that isn’t the case. Sadly in fact, while we should be loudly proclaiming these answers in unison to the rest of the world, instead we debate them amongst ourselves, if we talk about them at all.
Interest, Attention, Resources, and Investment
As I mentioned before, there is a vast array of topics and issues regarding science and technology in our modern world that could correctly be labeled as STS, and STS should claim them. Not only would this helpfully group and address such topics through common STS themes, but also, and importantly for STS, these issues bring interest and attention – which then brings resources and investment. How do we get more interest, attention, resources, and investment for STS? Start by conveying to people that the issues they already care about are in fact part of STS.
Even as a person who was interested in graduate school and looking for what I could study on these topics, I had a hard time even discovering STS. Very few people I spoke to were at all familiar with it, even within academia, and even within neighboring academic fields. But how can a potential student be expected to find it when STS isn’t even clearly defined? The members of STS needs to get on the same page: right now they can’t even agree on what “STS” stands for.
The STS Brand
So yes, the answer to “what is STS?” should be not only easy to answer, but advertised boldly to the world. And that definition should include quite a lot of things that are already part of our modern conversations. STS not only deserves to encompass them, but it would benefit both STS and progress on the issues themselves.
Regarding “Why does it matter?” and “What value does it provide?”, these too should be easy to answer. I’ll answer the first right now: “Having a deep understanding of how science and technology affect and are affected by our society is the only way we can hope to both solve and prevent the related problems that are currently plaguing us in our modern lives.” Personally I would hope that all of STS might agree.
Our Value Proposition
But I cannot answer the second question, that is of course the job of STS. However, paradoxically, it seems to have thus far resisted taking on this job at all, content instead to direct the majority of its results right back into itself. It’s as if the work of STS never breaks through its own gravity to reach the outer world. STS talks about STS, but no one else is included. This is a mistake.
STS scholars need to care about creating connections and value to the rest of the world. This does not mean only doing work sponsored by monied interests, but it does mean seeking ways to provide meaningful or useful contributions to other fields of study, to general education and public knowledge, or to aid the work of others. (Including, yes, the business world.) Unlike physics, psychology, or even philosophy, STS is not currently doing a good job of connecting its work to the rest of the world in a way they can care about and use.
Come Check Out STS!
More than anything, STS needs to better communicate with the world outside of itself. If it can get people’s interest and attention, as I said earlier, it will grow resources and investment. And if it takes on topics of interest to other fields it will become more valuable. But if it doesn’t reach out to the world and tell them (and show them) how valuable it is, no one will know.
Right now STS doesn’t want to promote itself, or perhaps doesn’t want to concern itself with its image. But self-promotion is not vain and trivial, it is how to build an audience. No audience means no resources, no power, and no impact.
To have a successful impact on the world, as I believe it should, STS needs to convey to the public – as well as to the academic, political, and business worlds – what STS is doing and why that will be incredibly important and useful to them.
The Next Generation
The thing that made my choice to study STS the most difficult was that no one could answer for me how I could use it to create marketable value for others. I struggled with this as I dug in to learn more about STS. Ultimately I came to believe in its potential and decided to proceed. But I still think STS is failing students when it doesn’t answer this question for them. I’m sure also that it is losing a lot of potentially great students who never find the answer and choose instead to pursue more known and marketable degrees.
Right now STS is hidden, and that problem is behind so many of its other problems. But the good news is that if leadership can form and better market the scope, importance, and value of STS, then I have no doubt that the field, its resources, and the reach of its impact can grow stronger.