Science, Technology and Public Policy

This course will deal with wide range of issues from local to global levels faced at the interface areas between science, technology and public policy from comparative perspective of Japan, the US and Europe. It offers key theoretical issues surrounding Science and Technology and provides students with the tools and frameworks, such as risk assessment/ management and transition management, to analyze them. This course invites students from both natural science backgrounds (i.e. the graduate school of engineering, new frontier science and so on) and social science backgrounds (graduate school of public policy, law and politics, and economicsand public policy). We expect students to acquire interdisciplinary perspective in addition to their primary major, which is one of the critical skill in analyzing complex social technical issues posed by science and technology.

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授業計画

1. Introduction – Science, Technology and Governance 2. Dynamic Nature of Science and Technology – Linear Model and Its Critics 3. Risk, Uncertainty and the Development of Risk Governance Framework 4. Technology Assessment – ELSI, RRI, Accident Investigation and Learning 5. The Role and Impact of Regulation – RIA and CBA 6. Design matters – Science Technology and Behavioral Science 7. Evidence Informed Decision Making and Better/Smart Regulation – US and EU Perspective 8. Beyond Public Engagement – Citizen Lobbyist in the Context of STI 9. Transition Management – Promotion of Science 10. Fukushima and Its Lessons in the Context of Science and Technology 11. The Use of Science in International Environmental and Health Politics – Climate Change, Food Trade, Global Health 12. Governance Challenges of Emerging Technology – New Techniques in Biotechnology including Genome Editing 13. Student Presentation of the Final Report Proposal (NOTE: Class schedule may subject to change)