The Novum is a site for the Science, Technology, and Society degree program at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. The STS program offers both a major and a minor and includes two tracks: environment & sustainability and policy & law.
Novum means new thing. The term is often used in discussions of science fiction to refer to a new invention or social change that creates the world of the story. The speculation required to imagine new fictional worlds mirrors the creative thinking required to enact new futures in the real world. The STS degree prepares students to examine and analyze the ways the world is, to imagine what it could be, and to take action to effect change.
We look to our students to create the world they (and we) will live in, and a degree in STS is a way to both contribute to and understand this world as it unfolds.
Most Recent Posts
Other Interesting Technologies: STS Faculty Reflect
This final entry in the series on interesting moments in science and technology features reflections from Paul Showler, Gerrit Scheepers, and Christy Tidwell on a wide range of topics: emotion detection technology, a method to provide easier access to clean water, and a scheme to farm hippos in the US.
Technologies of Destruction: STS Faculty Reflect
In this second entry in our series asking STS faculty to share elements of science and technology that they find interesting, Lilias Jones Jarding, Joshua Houy, and Frank Van Nuys write about technologies of destruction and violence.
Technologies of Communication: STS Faculty Reflect
This is the beginning of a short series in which several STS faculty share elements of science and technology that they find intriguing or meaningful. Here, Evan Thomas, Erica Haugtvedt, and Olivia Burgess write about communication technologies.
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The Novum 