SOCb2503 Social Responsibility: business, research and innovation

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. Róbert Braun (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Csaba Szaló, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Csaba Szaló, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Supplier department: Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Fri 11. 10. 10:00–17:40 U34, Fri 18. 10. 10:00–17:40 U34, Fri 22. 11. 10:00–17:40 U34
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 10/25, only registered: 0/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course will focus on what technology means in our current society from a social construc$vist perspective. Its main focus is on the socio-poli$cal nature of technology. It will take as its starting point Mar$n Heidegger’s famous text on ‘The ques$on concerning technology’ and show how a new understanding of technology and its embeddedness in social affairs in the second half of the 20th century emerged. The course will offer an introduction to by now classic texts and authors of STS, including Winner, Bijker, Latour and Jasanoff. From this theore$cal grounding, the course will look at ‘automobility’ as a specific sociotechnical setup and present how this sociotechnical frame is understood by a variety of scholars – as ‘system’, ‘regime’, ‘disposi$f’ or ‘imaginary’. This will lead us to the introduction of yet another concept – the ‘nomos of automobility’, which offers a different explanatory tool to understand automobility and sociotechnical setups in general. The course will conclude with an analysis and discussion of what this means for the current $me of technology transi$ons, including autonomous mobility, ar$ficial intelligence and biotechnology.
Learning outcomes
Students a?er comple@ng this course will: - Have a general awareness of what the rela@onship of technology and society is - Understand the concept of o STS (Science and Technology studies) o SCOT (The social construc@on of technology) o Sociotechnical imaginaries o RRI (Responsible Research and Innova@on) - The rela@onship of these concepts to the philosophy of science and sociology - Understand the concept and methodology of social phenomenology - Have sufficient knowledge of different conceptualiza@ons of technology, of automobility, of research and innova@on - Have prac@ce in theore@cal argumenta@on, understanding complex sociotechnical problems and conceptualiza@ons.
Syllabus
  • You can find in the course-related information the updated course-outline: https://is.muni.cz/auth/go/um01b5
Literature
    required literature
  • Heidegger, Martin. "The question concerning technology." Technology and values: Essential readings 99 (1954): 113. APA
  • Bijker, Wiebe E. Of bicycles, bakelites, and bulbs: Toward a theory of sociotechnical change. MIT press, 1997.
  • Urry, John. "The ‘system’of automobility." Theory, culture & society 21.4-5 (2004): 25-39.
  • Latour, Bruno. "Technology is society made durable." The Sociological Review 38.1_suppl (1990): 103-131.
  • Owen, Richard, and Mario Pansera. "Responsible innovation and responsible research and innovation." Handbook on Science and Public Policy. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.
  • Sheller, Mimi, and John Urry. "The city and the car." International journal of urban and regional research 24.4 (2000): 737-757.
  • Jasanoff, Sheila, and Sang-Hyun Kim, eds. Dreamscapes of modernity: Sociotechnical imaginaries and the fabrication of power. University of Chicago Press, 2015.
    not specified
  • You can find in the course-related information the updated course-outline: https://is.muni.cz/auth/go/um01b5
Teaching methods
intensive whole day seminar format
Assessment methods
You can find in the course-related information the updated course-outline: https://is.muni.cz/auth/go/um01b5
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
Teacher's information
Evaluation transformed from IHS to MU scale: A+: Excellent -> A A: Very good - > A A-: Good -> B B+: OK -> C B-: Satisfactory -> D C: Acceptable –> E F: Unacceptable/Fail -> F
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2024/SOCb2503