The field of science and technology studies has long critiqued the idea that there is such a thing as a universal and singular "Science" that exists independently of human society, interpretation, and action. However, the multiple significant ways in which colonial legacies impact and shape this project have often remained out of sight at the edges of the discipline.

In this important book, Amit Prasad seeks to rectify this erasure, demonstrating that problematic idealized imaginaries of science, scientists, and the scientific realm can be traced back to the birth of "modern science" during European colonialism. Such visions of science and technology have undergirded the imagination of the West (and thus of its others), constructing hierarchies of technological innovation and scientific value, but also unexpectedly leaving society vulnerable to contemporary threats of misinformation and conspiracy theories, as has been strikingly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Far from being an indictment of STS, this rigorous book seeks to highlight such concerns to make STS engage more carefully with issues of colonialism and thus to enable readers to understand the rapidly changing global topography of science and technology today and into the future.

About the Author

Amit Prasad is Associate Professor of Sociology at Georgia Tech University.

Reviews
"Prasad is a nimble and quick thinker. In this ambitious project, he weaves an engaging and highly readable discussion of what science is, why it is questioned, how we tell its history, and how we do this within a colonial frame."
Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Harvard University

"Amit Prasad has long been a major contributor to the vibrant field of postcolonial science studies. Those interested in the persistence of colonialism and the shadows it casts into the present will find much here to discuss and debate."
Suman Seth, Cornell University



Book Information
ISBN 9781509544424
Author Amit Prasad
Format Paperback
Page Count 200
Imprint Polity Press
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 318g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 137mm * 18mm