Society for Social Studies of Science

The Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) is a non-profit scholarly association devoted to the studies of science and technology. It was founded in 1975 and as of 2008 its international membership exceeds 1,200.

Its charter was drafted in 1975, and its first President was the American sociologist Robert K. Merton. It is currently based out of the Department of Sociology at Louisiana State University. It publishes the quarterly academic journal Science, Technology, & Human Values and has a large annual conference attended by hundreds of scholars from a diverse range of fields, including Science and technology studies, sociology of science, science studies, history of science, philosophy of science, anthropology of science, economics, political science, psychology, as well as science educators and scientists.

It gives out the Ludwig Fleck Prize annually for "best book in the area of science and technology studies", the Rachel Carson Prize for "a work of social or political relevance", the John Desmond Bernal Prize for an individual who made "a distinguished contribution to the field", and the Nicholas C. Mullins Award for "outstanding scholarship in science and technology studies" by a graduate student.

As of 2010 the President of the society was Den Mark Ladit, with Michael Lynch as the most recent past President. 4S is governed by a nine-person council as well as its President.