We are the official departmental society of the UCL Science and Technology Studies Department 2024/25.
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What is STS?
Science and Technology Studies (STS) is a well established, international academic discipline. It is the study of how society, politics, culture and the economy affect scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect society. UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an academic unit for research and teaching in history of science, philosophy of science, science policy, and science communication. STS is part of UCL Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MAPS).
What is the aim of the society?
The lunar society has been around the department since the creation of the first BSc in 1993. Its first aim is to provide a framework for STS student to exist as a community but it is also here for the whole UCL community. The society aims to give students the opportunities to get involved in the study of the relation between science, technology and the society. We organise events such as talks, student-led projects, trips, debates, movie screenings and pub crawls. For example, the society has organised a video competition with the scientific journal Nature to promote on-going UCL research.
Where does the lunar society come from?
The Lunar Society was a British dinner club and informal learned society of prominent figures in the Midlands Enlightenment, including industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 in Birmingham. At first called the Lunar Circle, "Lunar Society" became the formal name by 1775. The name arose because the society would meet during the full moon, as the extra light made the journey home easier and safer in the absence of street lighting. Famous members included: Matthew Boulton, Erasmus Darwin, Thomas Day, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, John Baskerville, Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Banks, Samuel Galton, Jr., James Keir, Joseph Priestley, William Small, Jonathan Stokes, James Watt, Josiah Wedgwood, John Whitehurst and William Withering.