Teaching

Professor Joe Cain teaches across a broad range of subjects in history and philosophy of science, science communication, and science and technology studies. Most teaching occurs at UCL via UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS). For more information about modules, timetables, and teaching, visit the STS portal for current students. This page provides basic information about Joe’s modules to introduce the content and range.

Modules include those presented to undergraduates and postgraduates (Masters) students.

As is common throughout higher education, most teaching material for the modules themselves is located in password-protected digital environments, such as UCL Moodle.

2026-27 session

WP DataTables

Paint Your Own Destiny | ProfJoeCain
Blog

What’s the STSNewsRoom?

Update April 2026: We decided to bring the STSNewsRoom to an end in 2025. Our feeling was this had run its course, and student needs had evolved such that a new approach was needed. I’m […]
ProfJoeCain style guide for HPSC modules. Photograph of typewriter.
Teaching Materials

ProfJoeCain’s style guide for HPSC modules

This is a guide to the style of presentation recommended for assessments in the HPSC modules for which I am module tutor. Students are strongly encouraged to follow this guide as a step towards using […]
HPSC0019 Human Sciences and Society, a course taught by Professor Joe Cain at UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS)
Undergraduate Modules

HPSC0019 Human Sciences and Society

Science plays key roles in solving problems of global and local concern. But science never is the only force at work. Increasingly, science and expertise face stiff competition for influence. This module focuses on science when it is […]
HPSC0070 Eugenics in Science and Culture | ProfJoeCain
Eugenics (historical)

HPSC0070 Eugenics in Science and Culture

Eugenics combined science and politics to create social policies intent on “improving the stock” of some human groups at the expense of others. This module investigates eugenics as a history of science and technology operating […]
Classroom with students taking notes
Teaching Materials

What are office hours? Best ways to meet your tutor

This is more-or-less a stairwell conversation recently had about the nature of academic office hours or meet-the-tutor drop-in appointments for students at the university. “Office hours” are a simple idea. Some people call them “drop-in […]
HPSC0081 Science in the Nineteenth Century
Masters Modules

HPSC0081 Science in the Nineteenth Century

The nineteenth century saw the origin of much of what we might identify as “modern” scientific and technological research and practice. Laboratories, factories explorations, empires – all had scientific significance and all were paramount in […]
HPSC0041 Dissertation
2026-27 Modules

HPSC0041 Dissertation

Undergraduates in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) undertake final year projects resulting in dissertations or research reports. Students undertake a research project largely of their own design in the field of science […]
HPSC0097 Research Project
2026-27 Modules

HPSC0097 Research Project

Postgraduate taught students in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) undertake summer research projects resulting in dissertations or research reports. Professor Joe Cain supervises some students in this work, as do all academic […]
HPSC0070 Zoos in Science and Culture
Teaching

HPSC0070 Zoos in Science and Culture

We once loved zoos. They stood as an important symbol of science at its best. In the 21st century, this changed. Zoos are at the centre of many debates about the role of science in […]
HPSC0069 Science in Nineteenth Century London
Teaching

HPSC0069 Science in Nineteenth Century London

The nineteenth century experienced a tremendous expansion of science. This module explores that expansion through the lens of popularization, public engagement, and presentation. We cover a variety of settings, including museums, lecture halls, publishing devices, […]