Teaching the History of Radical Science with Materials on Science for the People (1969–1989)

The author relates her experience teaching an undergraduate seminar on the 1970s–1980s movement Science for the People (SftP). She taught the seminar in conjunction with a three-day conference that brought together students, scholars in science and technology studies, and former SftP members. The seminar required students to delve into primary sources produced by and about SftP. By analyzing these materials and comparing SftP activities with other forms of science activism, students gained an understanding of the differences between liberal and radical approaches to scientific knowledge and political engagement. The seminar thus offered unusual opportunities, easily adoptable in other courses, to explore the history of radical science—with the concepts of “history,” “radical,” and “science” all serving as subjects of critical inquiry.