In the last decade or so, the field of science and technology studies (STS) has become an intellectually dynamic interdisciplinary arena. Concepts, methods, and theoretical perspectives are being drawn both from long-established disciplines and from relatively young ones. From its origins in philosophical and political debates about the creation and use of scientific knowledge, STS has become a wide and deep space for consideration of the place of science and technology in the world, past and present. This title seeks to capture the dynamism and breadth of the field by presenting work which...

In the twenty-first century, the production and use of scientific knowledge is more regulated, commercialized, and participatory than at any other time. The stakes in understanding those changes are high for scientist and nonscientist alike: they challenge traditional ideas of intellectual work and property and have the potential to remake legal and professional boundaries and transform the practice of research. A critical examination of the structures of power and inequality these changes hinge upon, this book explores the implications for human health, democratic society, and the...