From the way we write to the way we socialize and even the way we think, we are greatly influenced by our changing technologies. This month we look at books by scholars from Science and Technology Studies, the Department of Cinema and Digital Media, the Department of English and the University Writing Program.

Welcome to Books of the Month, where once a month, we select works from our Bookshelf of authors within the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. January is often a time for self-reflection and goal setting, so this month’s list features books that touch on both. 

By broadening the concept of "code" to include legal, social, and cultural systems, this collection challenges readers to see beyond the technical and interrogate the structures of power embedded in every layer of modern life. Just Code introduces a new framework for understanding the relationships among information technologies, systemic inequities, and the political economies that sustain them.

As an associate professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at UC Davis, Gerardo Con Diaz investigates how law and policy shape the digital world.

As technology blurs the line between science fiction and science fact, now more than ever it’s imperative to equip students with the skills to address the world-changing effects of scientific and technological revolutions. The Science and Technology Studies (STS) program at the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis aims to accomplish this by unifying the humanities and social sciences with the science, tech and medical fields. We asked some STS faculty for their top science fiction recommendations for the eager reader. Check out their recommendations below.