“Questioning the Social Implications of Genomics”
Steven Yearley: Professor of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge and Director
of the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum
Introduction to the inaugural lecture to be given by Steve Yearley on 20 March
2007
Steve Yearley is the University’s first Professor of the Sociology of Scientific
Knowledge, a reflection of the University’s pioneering role in analysing science in its
social context; he also directs the University’s “Genomics Forum”. In his lecture he
will examine the relevance of the sociology of scientific knowledge for the public’s
and politicians’ concerns about the social implications of genomics and related
advances in the biological sciences. As well as exploring some of the key social
impacts of the new life sciences, his lecture will demonstrate that the consequences of
novel science are still open. Through the use of detailed examples, Steve Yearley will
show that the implications of scientific advances are not determined by science alone
but by interactions between science and the wider culture – including cultural factors
such as law and politics.
Steve Yearley
Professor of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge &
Director of the ESRC Genomics Forum
University of Edinburgh
Genomics Forum
St John's Land
Edinburgh EH8 8AQ
eml: steve.yearley@ed.ac.uk
tel: 44 (0) 131 651 4740
http://www.genomicsforum.ac.uk/sy/index.html