History of Science and Policy
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History of Science and Policy
How to critically understand the coproduction of scientific knowledge and social order
This research group investigates the role of historical actors, institutions, and laws in making scientific knowledge and social order. We are interested in examining not only political powers and cultural values embedded in technoscientific systems but also the moral order of society shaped by new and emerging ideas. We seek to understand the Anthropocene from this conjoined perspective of science and society in East Asia. We employ comparative perspectives (cross-national) and conceptual tools developed in the history of science, STS, and the history of medicine. The topics of our study include: expertise and lay knowledge, law and science, transparency and openness, ethics and justices, safety and risk, and transnational governance.
Project
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Science and Governance
Buhm Soon Park
This project examines the historical transformation of the U.S. National Institutes of Health from the government’s small in-house laboratories to the premier agency for conducting and funding biomedical research in the twentieth century.
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Riskscapes of GM Crops
Taemin Woo and Buhm Soon Park
This project examines the peculiar ways in which grassroots (farmers, consumers, activists, etc.) visualizes the risks posed by field trials of genetically modified crops (including rice) in Korea.
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Post-genomic medicine in Society
Chul Choi and Buhm Soon Park
This project explores the assetization of personal information in the post-genomic era and its legal issues in the US and in East Asia.
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Anthropocene spaces in East Asia
Jun Soo Kim, Seulgi Lee and Buhm Soon Park
This project explores the question of how the Anthropocene may look different if we see it from the perspective of geohistorical experiences of East Asia. We examine DMZ and industrial sites, the circulation of construction and toxic materials, and the more-than-human components of urban and rural areas.