This course examines chemistry as a social, material, and epistemic practice, exploring how chemical knowledge and technologies shape—and are shaped by—cultural, political, and economic forces. While chemistry might feel abstract and detached from everyday life, we are surrounded by synthetic chemicals, from food dyes to plastics to chemical fertilizers for crops. Through engagement with scholars including Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Hannah Landecker, Mel Chen, M. Murphy, Natasha Myers, and Kim Fortun, we explore key themes: the philosophy and history of chemical thinking, the materiality of chemical substances and their agency, toxic legacies and environmental justice, synthetic biology and the remaking of life, and the chemical industries’ influence on knowledge production.