Maastricht University Science, Technology and Society Studies (MUSTS)

The Maastricht University – Science, Technology and Society Studies (MUSTS) research programme studies the relations among science, technology and society, focusing on Cultures of Research and Innovation. We are interested in settings that are infused with new knowledge, instruments, artefacts, actors, and skills—whether in the laboratory, the hospital, the workshop, the concert hall, or regulatory agencies.

We study such cultures of research and innovation in a radically interdisciplinary way. The classic disciplines of sociology, anthropology, history and philosophy play a constituting role. Cultural themes are historicized; historical questions are shown to have normative dimensions; and ethical issues are studied as social phenomena. Analysis typically moves among different levels (from micro-level studies of local practices to macro-level questions of governance, policy and morality). MUSTS research is adventurous in exploring theoretical and empirical fault lines, but it is always rigorous in its methodological approach, theoretical grounding, and scholarly justifications.

Director: Prof. Cyrus Mody

View recent MUSTS publications

Main research themes

MUSTS studies the relations between science, technology and society, focusing in particular on Cultures of Research and Innovation.

Research themes:

Practices of Collaborative Research and Innovation
Networks of Knowledge Production and Consumption
Embodied Expertise in Art, Science and Medicine

Practices of Collaborative Research and Innovation

Research and innovation have never been solitary efforts, but instead have long required complex constellations of actors and institutions to work together. In this sub-theme we examine how these collaborations are organized to produce and adapt research (“know-what”) and innovation (“know-how”).

For more information about this theme, please visit the research themes webpage.

Networks of Knowledge Production and Consumption

Scientific theories rely on networks of humans, practices and things in order to gain traction. In line with the internationalist and universalist ambitions of late-modern science, these networks increasingly span the globe.

For more information about this theme, please visit the research themes webpage.

Embodied Expertise in Art, Science and Medicine

Developing expertise in domains such as art, music, science, engineering and medicine, whether as an individual or a group, has always been an embodied process of learning amidst technologies.

For more information about this theme, please visit the research themes webpage.

News

Portret Penelope Bollini en Bart Penders

Unique collaboration between faculties and University Library shows how ‘invisible’ knowledge workers contribute to Open Science

Knowledge workers contribute greatly to academic research and Open Science. To show this important work, Bart Penders, Yannis Stavrakakis and Penelope Bollini are participating in the project Invisible knowledge work and the transformation and scaling of Open Science practices.

Researchers

Matthew Archer receives E.W. Beth Foundation grant for workshop on animal ethics and sentience

The workshop represents a new direction in Matthew’s research, building on his recent interest in the ethics of precision agriculture.

Researchers

Two FASoS researchers receive grants to make teaching materials openly accessible

Anna Harris will document the improvised inventions that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ferenc Laczó will bring together interviews with leading historians on major turning points in contemporary Europe.

Researchers

Michiel Bron wins inaugural William Burr Prize in Nuclear History

Michiel Bron, who obtained his PhD at FASoS, has won the inaugural William Burr Prize in Nuclear History for his dissertation The Petro-Atom . The prize recognises outstanding nuclear history research and includes a book contract with McGill-Queen's University Press.

Researchers

Michiel Bron awarded Dirk Jacob Veegens Prize

The prize particularly honours work that, from a historical perspective, contributes to a deeper understanding of issues relevant to contemporary society. Michiel's PhD research is about “The Petro-Atom: A Century of Ubiquitous Oil Involvement in Nuclear Energy.”