About
Shobita Parthasarathy
(SHOW-bih-tha Partha-sarathee)
Shobita Parthasarathy is Professor of Public Policy and Women's and Gender Studies, and co-founder and director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at University of Michigan. During the 2025-6 academic year, she will be a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. She is the recipient of the 2021 Faculty Recognition Award from the University of Michigan, honoring her “demonstrated remarkable contributions to the university” in research, teaching, and service. You can view a full CV by clicking here, or join the conversation on Bluesky! She is represented by CCMNT Speakers; if you would like to book her for an event you can do so here.
How can we do a better job of developing innovation, and innovation policy, to benefit the public interest and ensure public legitimacy?
How can our government institutions better anticipate and address the ethical, social, environmental, and public health implications of emerging science and technology like AI?
Why and how have citizens become more critical of scientific and technological development and the institutions that govern it, and what can we do about it?
These are the questions that drive Professor Parthasarathy's research, teaching, public and policy engagement.
WRITER.
Professor Parthasarathy is the author of:
Building Genetic Medicine: Breast Cancer, Technology, and the Comparative Politics of Health Care (MIT Press, 2007).
Current research projects include a book on the politics of “tech for good” initiatives with a focus on India, developing an alternative approach to technological innovation that centers the needs and knowledge of marginalized communities, and through the Technology Assessment Project, developing a new methodology for anticipating the implications of emerging technologies by analyzing analogical case studies.
Teaching Summary
Professor Parthasarathy offers her insights on how to develop and govern science and technology in ethically and socially responsible ways, to technical communities. This includes teaching graduate and undergraduate students across a wide variety of fields, including public policy, the natural and physical sciences, and engineering. She has also created an open online course on Justice and Equity in Technology Policy, available to learners across the world.
BELOW, PLEASE FIND THE SYLLABI FOR THE COURSES THAT SHE TEACHES REGULARLY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN.
Justice and Equity in Tech Policy
This free online course is open to learners across the world. They will explore how tech and tech policy reflect social values and politics, and how to design both to ensure equity and justice.
-
![]()
Intro to Science & Technology Policy Analysis
Students learn about the major challenges in science and technology policymaking, and how to participate in the process.
-
![]()
Qualitative Research Methods
Students learn how to evaluate and conduct qualitative research and understand its utility for public policy.
-
![]()
The Politics of Public Policy
This course uses a cross-national approach to help students understand the dynamics of the political environment and to develop strategies to engage with it.
