Science Studies

Scholars in the interdisciplinary field of science and technology studies (STS) examine knowledge production, scientific practices, and therapeutics in social and cultural context.

At UCSC, STS scholars analyze the symbolic dimensions and representational practices of global and community health; articulate the role of science, technology, and medicine in processes of racialization and colonization; map new geographies of scientific and global health governance and their implications for health access; infuse questions of bioethics with questions of social justice; and identify how models, metrics, and instruments bring new social phenomena into being and with what implications for the valuation of human life.

To contextualize contemporary developments, we draw from work in the history of science, medicine, and empire to consider how ideas about human and environmental health have circulated in prior historical epochs and what their legacies are in the present. And in studying the making and doing of global health, we seek to engage in re-worlding for a more just and equitable world for all living beings.

Chris Benner

• Pronouns
  • he, him, his, his, himself
• Title
  • Professor
• Department
  • Environmental Studies Department
• Campus Email
  • cbenner@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Urban studies

David L Bernick

• Pronouns
  • he, him, his, his, himself
• Title
  • Associate Teaching Professor
• Department
  • Biomolecular Engineering
• Campus Email
  • dbernick@ucsc.edu

Benjamin Breen

• Pronouns
  • he, him, his, his, himself
• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Department
  • History Department
• Campus Email
  • bebreen@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • History of Science

Nancy N. Chen

• Title
  • Professor
• Department
  • Anthropology Department
• Campus Email
  • nchen@ucsc.edu

Jennifer L. Derr

• Pronouns
  • she/they
• Title
  • Associate Professor; Founding Director, Center for the Middle East and North Africa at UC Santa Cruz
• Department
  • History Department
• Campus Email
  • jderr@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Disease and Immunity

Lindsey Dillon

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Department
  • Sociology Department
• Campus Email
  • lidillon@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Activism

James Doucet-Battle

• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Department
  • Sociology Department
• Campus Email
  • jbattle@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Sociology

Madeleine Fairbairn

• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Department
  • Environmental Studies Department
• Campus Email
  • mfairbai@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Agroecology and Agriculture

Marcella Gomez

• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Department
  • Applied Mathematics
• Campus Email
  • mgomez26@ucsc.edu

Julie H Guthman

• Title
  • Professor
• Department
  • Community Studies Program
• Campus Email
  • jguthman@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Agroecology and Agriculture

Jaimie Morse

• Pronouns
  • she, her, her, hers, herself
• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Department
  • Sociology Department
• Campus Email
  • jmorse1@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Sociology

Sara Niedzwiecki

• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Department
  • Politics Department
• Campus Email
  • sniedzwi@ucsc.edu

Raquel Prado

• Title
  • Professor
• Department
  • Statistics
• Campus Email
  • rprado@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Statistics

Magy Seif El-Nasr

• Pronouns
  • she, her, her, hers, herself
• Title
  • Professor and Department Chair
• Department
  • Computational Media
• Campus Email
  • mseifeln@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Human Computer Interaction

Matt Sparke

• Pronouns
  • he, him
• Title
  • Professor
• Department
  • Politics Department
• Campus Email
  • msparke@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Capitalism

Anna L Tsing

• Title
  • Professor
• Department
  • Anthropology Department
• Campus Email
  • atsing@ucsc.edu

Ali Yanik

• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Department
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Campus Email
  • yanik@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Electrical Engineering