La comprensión pública de la biotecnologíaEl caso de los alimentos transgénicos en cursos de posgrado

Abstract

This work deals with socio-technological controversies within the context of STS postgraduate education. The case describes the results of a didactic intervention on GM food in Cuba that was given as part of the Master of Social Studies in Science and Technology of the University of Cienfuegos. The time needed to develop the active methodologies in one-week courses is considered, given that the goal of the intervention was to give the participants a socio-technological grounding in this material. Using previous experiences, the goal is to improve educational methodology, based on debates and discussions in small groups and minor research carried out at a distance. This article describes the results obtained and identifies the STS subject matter that emerges during discussions and debates. The results indicate that the methodology applied and the focus on contextualized controversies about GM food improve the results of teaching prior experiences, while also serving as a useful introduction to STS subjects such as the precautionary principle, the evaluation of technologies, social control of technologies, the knowledge dialogue and risk perception.