Have you written in the fall or are you writing a paper this spring on a theme related to how science and technology affect and are affected by social, political, cultural, or economic life? Are you interested in writing such a paper? Then please consider submitting your essay to the Holtz Center’s Spring 2018 Essay Competition: Science, Technology, and Society.
The Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies is active in enhancing undergraduate education through its Certificate, Integrated Studies in Science, Engineering, and Society (ISSuES). One of the main purposes of ISSuES is to foster a better understanding of the place of science and technology in social life and the social and cultural determinants of science and technology research and practice.
This competition is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Appropriate applicants could include topics such as: engineering students who are thinking about the place of a technological artifact in society or in policy, biology students thinking about biological research and gender dynamics, pre-med students of all disciplines concerned about how the internet is changing health practices of different groups, English students interested in science fiction, sociology students focused on science and technology policy, environmental studies students interested in the tensions between a scientific and social perspectives on sustainability, or scientific narratives of race and racial identities. These are only some examples of possible essay topics. Let your imagination run wild, unleash your creative impulses, challenge given and established wisdom, and think outside of the box.
Here are the eligibility criteria:
1.You should be enrolled as an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
2.The paper can be written as a class term paper, but should be redrafted to fit the purposes of this competition
3.The paper can also be written specifically for this competition
4.Papers should not exceed 2500 words (not including references)
The deadline for submitting the essays is 5 pm on Monday, April 16, 2018. Essays should be emailed to sts@ssc.wisc.edu.
Where qualified essays are received, the first prize will be $500, the second prize will be $300, and the third prize will be $100.
Questions about the competition should be addressed to either the Director of the Holtz Center, Samer Alatout, samer.alatout@wisc.edu, or the Associate Director, Lyn Macgregor, lyn.macgregor@wisc.edu.
2018 Call for Submissions: Undergraduate Writing Competition