Society for Social Studies of Science

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The Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) is a non-profit scholarly association devoted to the social studies of science and technology (STS).^[1] It was founded in 1975 and it has grown considerably over the years. In 2024, over 3,000 people attended the society's annual meeting in Amsterdam, co-hosted by the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST).

Its charter was drafted in 1975,^[2] and its first President was the American sociologist Robert K. Merton.^[3] 4S is governed by a nine-person council as well as its president.^[4]

4S publishes the quarterly academic journal Science, Technology, & Human Values as well as the diamond open access journal Engaging STS, and it organizes an annual conference attended by thousands of scholars from a range of fields including science and technology studies, sociology of science, science studies, history of science, philosophy of science, anthropology of science, economics, political science, and psychology, as well as science educators and scientists.

It gives out the Ludwik Fleck Prize annually for "best book in the area of science and technology studies", the Rachel Carson Prize for "a work of social or political relevance", the John Desmond Bernal Prize for an individual who made "a distinguished contribution to the field", and the Nicholas C. Mullins Award for "outstanding scholarship in science and technology studies" by a graduate student.^[5]