Most of the undergraduates who major in the history and sociology of science are studying to be professional scientists. Over half are pre-med. Lindee believes the academic program helps them become more sophisticated scientists. It seems to me very important that they understand that science as an institution has a history, that the standards for making decisions about nature have changed through time, that the rules for conducting research and writing scientific papers are historical conventions. It's important for them to be aware of the role that social belief can have in shaping what kinds of questions they ask and what kinds of solutions seem compelling or interesting.
Nature is incredibly complicated, and science does the best it can.
In popular narratives, there are genes for criminality, smoking, divorce, shyness and selfishness, intelligence and its absence, watching television, homosexuality, and so on. And it's not just through the mass media that these notions and narratives are conveyed and reinforced. Those are stories that you tell about what nature is and what truth is. In the 1960s, movements within scientific circles as well as grass roots activity by lay and consumer groups began to undermine and reconfigure the contract between science and society. One aspect of the shift in science studies has been the growth of a feminist perspective.