Opening Professional Pathways for Humanities PhD Students Specializing in Science, Technology and Society (STS) Studies

Massimo Mazzotti
History/CSTMS
UC Berkeley

As technology increasingly weaves its way into every facet of modern life, humanistic and social scientific research in the field of STS (Science, Technology and Society Studies, or Science and Technology Studies) has become increasingly relevant, especially here in California, home of Silicon Valley. Today, most of the universities in the UC system have either a certificate or Designated Emphasis program for graduate students whose research grapples with the relationship between humans (and non-humans), science, technology, and society. The necessarily interdisciplinary nature of the field of STS has resulted in a striking diversity of interests among graduate students in these programs, but while this interdisciplinarity provides valuable opportunities for students to engage in cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas and methods, it also means that professional development programming is often confined to STS-oriented graduate students’ home departments, leaving many students unsure of how to leverage the specific skills that they’ve acquired from these programs once on the job market. This series of workshops, open to all STS-oriented students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who wish to participate, is tailored to address the specific needs of graduate students whose research examines issues related to science, technology, and society.