Science in Society

A 1981 project which set out to bring non-specialist scientific literacy to the post-16 curriculum, Science in Society was one of the first high-profile UK science courses to include topics with wide political implications. A major influence on the choice and treatment of topics was the Club of Rome book (1972) called Limits to Growth. The report was based on modelling which explored how exponential growth interacts with finite resources. The main emphasis of the course was on the issues raised by the application of scientific knowledge but there was also a reader about the nature of science. The influence of the sponsors and expert contributors meant that there was an unusual emphasis on economics and the contributions of industry to the economy.