Maastricht University Science, Technology and Society Studies
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
Darian Meacham appointed co-investigator in national ROBUST programme
- Researchers
The programme boosts fundamental research in artificial intelligence through public-private collaborations.
Read all about our research achievements of 2024 in the newly published annual research report
- Researchers
In-depth interviews with colleagues who have been appointed via the sector plans, and highlights the key achievements
Kris Goffin featured in documentary on unconscious biases
- Researchers
Are unconscious biases steering our decisions more than we realize?
FASoS researchers Joris Boonen and Thomas Frissen receive NRO grant
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€200,000 for the project ‘Does interdisciplinary education live up to its promises: an evaluation of the added value of interdiscip
New technologies: Heroes or villains?
- Researchers
Dani Shanley explores responsible innovation, ethics, and society’s role in shaping progress.
