Please visit our Japanese blog or Japanese page for recent (2002-) information, or ask by e-mail office@stsnj.org
URL: http://stsnj.org/
'Science and Technology' has been an absolute necessity in our society nowadays, especially for its practical usefulness and convenience. But, at the same time, various problems, unexpected from the past experiences, have been emerging from it, too. For instance, we are now faced with the global environmental issues, the ethical questions concerning life sciences, and the technological frictions in the realm of high-tech. Issues such as these have been discussed in history of science and technology, sociology of science, science and technology policies, or in economics, but these approaches are viewed as being too restricted to own specialities, in order to meet the practical interests of our society. And this is exactly where STS becomes to be important.
The term, STS, is an abbreviation of 'Science, Technology and Society.' It is a growing area of research and education, aiming to scrutinize a variety of social issues associated with modern science and technology. And by doing so, it challenges the established academic styles.
STS Network Japan is an intercommunication body for the people who are interested in these issues. And, since its launch in March 1990, it has been providing excellent opportunities for interactions and discussions between people of diverse interests and backgrounds. There are approximately 250 members at present (April 2000), including teaching staff in universities, students, school teachers, company employees, journalists, and officers of ministries and agencies.
As an organization, STS Network Japan has been offering a variety of activities, such as a general meeting (every spring), research presentations, symposiums (twice a year) and summer schools. These are listed in the next section on the archive of activities. Also, it provides to its members with own publications: Newsletter (4 volumes per annum) and the annual Yearbook, both of which are full of intriguing STS-related information. In addition to this, it runs STSNJ Mailing List (this system is described in the latter section of this guidance), to which a member is entitled to register.
If you find the contents of this guidance or our activities interesting, please do contact us anytime for further information. We look forward to your enthusiastic participation.
By a postal, please make a payment of 2,000 Yen to the address of the secretariat shown on the top of this page. On receiving your membership fees, the current issue of the Yearbook will be sent to your address. Also, it is appreciated if you could indicate, in the correspondence of the postal order, that it is for a new membership, and STS topics you are interested in. Please note that this may be introduced in the forthcoming Newsletter.
Account Holder: STS Network Japan
Account No.: 00170-1-63708
...Held with the general meetings and spring symposia.
...Camping at summer resorts to provide members with opportunities for reunion and information exchanges