Science, Technology & Society (BHA Concentration)
Beth Jameson, BHA STS Concentration Advisor (BH 240A)
BHA Science, Technology & Society
(93 units minimum)
All students in the Science, Technology & Society (STS) concentration are required to complete two reading- and writing-intensive courses: Introduction to Historical Research & Writing (79-200, 9 units), and Advanced Seminar in History (79-420, 12 units), which is regularly offered in the Fall semester of the senior year. Students must earn a final grade of “C” or better in these two courses in order to fulfill the requirements for the STS concentration.
Students in the STS concentration are also required to take at least one of the following general education courses: Introduction to the History of Science (79-160, 9 units) or Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society (79-170, 9 units). In addition, students must take two historical survey courses from a wide range of attractive options that include most major regions of the world. Otherwise, students enjoy great flexibility: they are free to take additional survey courses or to specialize in thematic topics or regions of the world that are of special interest to them.
Required General Education Course (1 course, 9 units)
| Units | ||
| 79-160 | Introduction to the History of Science | 9 |
| 79-170 | Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society | 9 |
Required History Department Courses (2 courses, 21 units)
| 79-200 | Introduction to Historical Research & Writing | 9 |
| 79-420 | Advanced Seminar in History | 12 |
Required Survey Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
Choose two courses:
| 79-110 | Introduction to the Medieval Mediterranean World | 9 |
| 79-112 | Introduction to Asian American History | 9 |
| 79-116 | Introduction to the Modern Middle East | 9 |
| 79-120 | Introduction to African American History: Black Americans and the World | 9 |
| 79-145 | Genocide and Weapons of Mass Destruction | 9 |
| 79-174 | Introduction to Latin America | 9 |
| 79-189 | Democracy and History: Thinking Beyond the Self | 9 |
| 79-203 | The Other Europe: The Habsburgs, Communism, & Central/Eastern Europe, 1740-1990 | 9 |
| 79-205 | 20th Century Europe | 9 |
| 79-206 | Crime and Punishment in Early Modern Europe | 9 |
| 79-211 | Modern Southeast Asia: Colonialism, Capitalism, and Cultural Exchange | 9 |
| 79-212 | Jim Crow America | 9 |
| 79-223 | Mexico: From the Aztec Empire to the Drug War | 9 |
| 79-225 | West African History in Film | 9 |
| 79-226 | African History: Earliest Times to 1780 | 9 |
| 79-227 | Modern Africa: The Slave Trade to the End of Apartheid | 9 |
| 79-240 | U.S. History and Culture | 9 |
| 79-241 | The Holocaust: What You Should Know and Why | 9 |
| 79-242 | African American History: Reconstruction to the Present | 9 |
| 79-245 | Capitalism and Individualism in American Culture | 9 |
| 79-248 | U.S. Constitution & the Presidency | 9 |
| 79-249 | 20th Century U.S. History | 9 |
| 79-250 | Voting Rights: An Introduction | 9 |
| 79-255 | Modern Ireland: Politics and Culture from the Famine (1847) to Today | 9 |
| 79-260 | Nazi Germany: A Practical History | 9 |
| 79-261 | The Last Emperors: Chinese History and Society, 1600-1900 | 9 |
| 79-262 | Modern China: From the Birth of Mao ... to Now | 9 |
| 79-265 | Russian History: Game of Thrones | 9 |
| 79-266 | Russian History and Revolutionary Socialism | 9 |
| 79-269 | Russian History: From Socialism to Capitalism | 9 |
| 79-270 | Anti-Semitism Then and Now: Perspectives from the Middle Ages to the Present | 9 |
| 79-272 | Coexistence and Conflict: Muslims, Christians and Jews in Spain and Portugal | 9 |
| 79-288 | Bananas, Baseball, and Borders: Latin America and the United States | 9 |
| 79-320 | Women, Politics, and Protest | 9 |
| 79-329 | Introduction to Queer Studies | 9 |
Electives in Science, Technology, and Medicine (3 courses, 27 units)
The concentration in Science, Technology & Society is appropriate for those students who wish to focus their studies on the history and anthropology of science, technology, and medicine. Therefore, STS students must fulfill their concentration's elective requirement by completing at least 27 units from the approved list of science-, medicine- and/or technology-focused courses below. Any courses not listed below may be accepted through petitioning the Academic Program Manager, Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra. Any petitions for course substitutions require the endorsement of Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Ricky Law.
| 79-150 | Medieval Science, Magic, and Wonders of Nature | 9 |
| 79-175 | Moneyball Nation: Data in American Life | 9 |
| 79-176 | Telegraphs, Tapes & TikTok: Technology and Revolutions in the Modern Middle East | 6 |
| 79-202 | Flesh and Spirit: Early Modern Europe, 1400-1750 | 9 |
| 79-204 | American Environmental History | 9 |
| 79-208 | Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting | 9 |
| 79-213 | The American Railroad: Decline and Renaissance in the Age of Deregulation | 6 |
| 79-215 | Environmental Justice from Conservation to Climate Change | 9 |
| 79-221 | From Compton to Kabul: Sound, Power, and Global History | 9 |
| 79-234 | Technology and Society | 9 |
| 79-278 | How (Not) to Change the World | 9 |
| 79-280 | Coffee and Capitalism | 9 |
| 79-283 | Anthropology of Energy | 9 |
| 79-289 | Animal Planet: An Environmental History of People and Animals | 9 |
| 79-297 | Technology and Work | 9 |
| 79-302 | Killer Robots? The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Drones and A.I. in War | 9 |
| 79-303 | Pittsburgh and the Transformation of Modern Urban America | 9 |
| 79-304 | History of Eugenics and Scientific Racism | 9 |
| 79-315 | The Politics of Water in Global Perspective | 9 |
| 79-330 | Medicine and Society: Health, Healers, and Hospitals | 9 |
| 79-331 | Body Politics: Women and Health in America | 9 |
| 79-332 | Medical Anthropology | 9 |
| 79-357 | Science and the Body | 6 |
| 79-365 | Race, Medicine, and Civil Rights | 9 |
| 79-368 | Un-natural Disasters: Societies and Environmental Hazards in Global Perspective | 6 |
| 79-370 | Technology in the United States | 9 |
| 79-375 | Science & Religion | 6 |
| 79-380 | Hostile Environments: The Politics of Pollution in Global Perspective | 9 |
| 79-381 | The Multispecies City: Anthropology of Urban Environments | 9 |
Courses in Other Departments that Fulfill STS Elective Requirements (2 courses, 18 units minimum)
In addition, students who elect to earn a concentratio. in Science, Technology & Society should complete at least two courses in a scientific or technical discipline, which may be drawn from CMU-approved coursework in mathematics, statistics, biology, ecology, geology, physics, astronomy, and chemistry. These courses may be chosen from the list below, or by petitioning the Academic Program Manager, Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra, to accept equivalent courses as substitutions. (Note that some of the courses may have prerequisites established by the departments offering them. Students should consult with the academic advisor about how such prerequisites may affect their course of study.)
| 36-202 | Methods for Statistics & Data Science | 9 |
| or 70-208 | Regression Analysis | |
| 36-303 | Sampling, Survey and Society | 9 |
| 36-309 | Experimental Design for Behavioral & Social Sciences | 9 |
| 70-257 | Optimization for Business | 9 |
| 80-305 | Game Theory | 9 |
| 80-306 | Decision Theory | 9 |
| 88-221 | Markets, Democracy, and Public Policy | 9 |
| 88-223 | Decision Analysis | 12 |
| 88-251 | Empirical Research Methods | 9 |
| 88-300 | Programming and Data Analysis for Social Scientists | 9 |
79-505: History Internship
The History program strongly encourages students to locate internship opportunities in Pittsburgh or elsewhere that complement their historical interests (as, for example, in a museum or historical society) or in areas of policy research that complement their historical interests (as, for example, in a government agency or non-profit organization that promotes science education and outreach). The Academic Program Manager, Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra, will assist students with matching their interests to local organizations. STS students can earn up to 9 units in each internship. Up to 9 history internship credits may count toward fulfillment of elective course requirements for the STS concentration.