Past, Present, and Future: Science Studies and the Historian's Role in Contemplating the Future

This panel will address the use of science and technology studies to address particular audiences, re-evaluate perceptions of failed promises, and examine how the history of science and technology can be utilized as a tool for reconsidering the future. Presenters will focus on three case studies: 1) how Space-Age-era mythic visions of a future in outer space should be historically considered alongside the contemporaneous public recognition of the ecological fragility of the planet. These popular culture conceptions of the cosmos will de examined within a context of Space Age materialism and consumerism that led to ecological consequences still today tied into futuristic visions of humanity; 2) the history of 20th century food science and technology in the United States with a focus on its prospective and promissory orientation and the role of consumer rejection in shaping the marketplace and research and development in food science, ultimately questioning the fate of the imagined futures embedded in failed technologies; 3) the importance of a historical analysis of past reform efforts in math and science education in the U.S. as a tool aimed at the specific audience of policymakers to help them better understand the perception of crisis and failure in past reform efforts and using this analysis to inform future educational reforms. These case studies will open a discussion about the goals of science and technology studies, the role of the historian in reaching particular audiences, and the utility/limitations of historical analysis in contemplating the future.