War for beginners: Christine Leuenberger in Tel Aviv
Leuenberger, senior lecturer in the Department of Science and
Technology Studies, was conducting research in Israel and the West Bank
as a National Science Foundation Scholar Nov. 15, 2012, when bombs began
to fall on Tel Aviv. That war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza lasted
from Nov. 14-21. Full Story
In a NYT article, Trevor Pinch weighs in about Amazon reviews being used as attack weapons to "sink new books."
"Books used to die by being ignored, but now they can be killed — and perhaps unjustly killed," said Trevor Pinch, a Cornell sociologist who has studied Amazon reviews. "In theory, a very good book could be killed by a group of people for malicious reasons." Full New York Times Article
Vogel's book calls for new approach to assessing bioweapons threats
The horrifying terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and the anthrax strikes that soon followed gave the United States new reason to fear unconventional enemies and atypical weapons. These fears have prompted extensive research, study and planning within the U.S. military, intelligence and policy communities regarding potential attacks involving biological weapons.
A new book, "Phantom Menace or Looming Danger? A New Framework for Assessing Bioweapons Threats" (The Johns Hopkins University Press), by Kathleen Vogel, associate professor in Cornell's Department of Science and Technology Studies, argues for a major shift in how analysts assess these and other bioweapons threats -- one that highlights how the U.S. analyses have failed in the past. Full Story
S&TS graduate student receives Fulbright-Hays Fellowship
Congratulations to Tyson Vaughan, a graduate student in S&TS, who has received a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship! This achievement was mentioned in the Cornell Chronicle Full Story
Leuenberger to Study Israel/Palestine 'Map Wars'
Christine Leuenberger, senior lecturer in the Department of Science and Technology Studies, has been awarded more than $150,000 from the National Science Foundation's Division of Social and Economic Sciences. The award will fund a project to investigate the political use of maps in a conflict zone and how maps become part of territorial claims-making. Full story
Trevor Pinch Expounds on the Sounds of Commerce
When we think of buying and selling, we usually think in terms of what we can see: money, material goods, electronic trading screens. "Sound is very much an afterthought," Trevor Pinch said Feb. 15 in the Society for the Humanities Annual Invitational Lecture.
But for Pinch, professor of science and technology studies and of sociology and author of the new book "The Oxford Handbook of Sound Studies" (Oxford Unviersity Press, 2012), sound is anything but an afterthought. Full Story
Christine Leuenberger to develop interactive course in Israel
Christine Leuenberger, senior lecturer in the Department of Science and Technology Studies,
will return to Tel Aviv University's geography department this December for 42 days as a Fulbright specialist. Full Story
Hilgartner Tapped as Study Section Member with Center for Scientific Review
Stephen Hilgartner, chair and associate professor of science and
technology studies, has been chosen to serve as a member of the Ethical,
Legal and Social Implications of Human Genetics Study Section with the
Center for Scientific Review. Membership on a study section represents
an opportunity for participants to contribute to national biomedical
research. Full Story
Ithaca's Trevor Pinch emerges as analog half of Electric Golem
Showcased proudly in the center of his basement studio, Trevor
Pinch's homemade synthesizer,"Stray Capacitance," is an artifact of
the early days of electronic music as well as a testament to
Pinch's manifold life and career. Full Story
