Call for papers, for a session at STS-dagarna 2022
Ingemar Bohlin
Dear all,
This is an invitation to be part of a session at STS-dagarna in Gothenburg, 4-5 May 2022. What follows is an abstract of the session we are planning to propose to the conference organizers. If you would like to present a paper in this session, please send an abstract of no more than 300 words to both of us, Camilo Castillo and Ingemar Bohlin, no later than 20 January. This will allow us some time to communicate with participants prior to the conference deadline for complete session proposals, which is 31 January.
For more info about STS-dagarna, please get in touch with Francis Lee (fra...@francislee.org) or Alicja Ostrowska (alicja.o...@chalmers.se).
Revisiting the politics of STS: how the goal of understanding science and technology is related to that of intervention
Organizers:
Camilo Castillo, PhD Student, Linköping University, camilo.c...@liu.se
Ingemar Bohlin, Senior Lecturer, University of Gothenburg, ingemar...@gu.se
Discussant:
Steve Woolgar, Professor, Linköping University, steve....@liu.se (to be confirmed in January)
Abstract:
The principle of symmetry has long been central in constructivist STS. Introduced within SSK and then adopted and radicalized by the architects of ANT, symmetry implies a certain kind of distance to the areas studied; analysts’ categories need to be kept separate from the normativity built into actors’ categories. A key tension running through the history of the field is one of theoretical sophistication vs social and political commitment. Analysts promoting more activist-oriented approaches have long criticized dominant STS frameworks for their apparent neutrality and lack of political engagement. Deconstructing actors’ knowledge claims is not enough, it is often argued; as analysts, we need to contribute to reconstructing science-based infrastructures affecting the general public. Unconventional research practices and novel forms of collaboration are being introduced, accordingly, to allow analysts to intervene at the sites they study.
Do these developments offer a way of resolving the long-standing tension between descriptivism and normativity, or do they reiterate and restate it? Is the current emphasis on intervention and normativity a matter of adding a component to existing STS repertoires, or are researchers who adopt engaged and interventionist approaches losing the analytic power of the descriptivist agenda? Do concepts such as ontological politics, situated interventions, matters of care and epistemic injustice generate tensions that might be productive within the field? This panel invites researchers engaged or taking an interest in STS scholarship on environmental challenges, migration, public health, science policy, gender, the current standing of democracy and other politically charged topics to reflect on these issues.
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