[Air-l] Fwd: CFP: STS (R)evolutions (Virginia Tech)

[jeremy hunsinger]

>
> August 5, 2004
> First Call for Papers
>
>
> STS (R)evolutions
> March 17-20th
> Virginia Tech
> Blacksburg, VA
>
>
>  Abstracts of 250 words should be submitted electronically to  
> STS_revolutions at vt.edu  by November 15, 2004.
>
>
>  ** Conference Background **
> An emerging sense of urgency cuts across recent work and conferences 
> in the field of Science & Technology Studies: What role can STS play 
> in reshaping the relationships among science, technology and the 
> public(s)? At a time in which the politics of scientific and technical 
> knowledge are increasingly visible to scientists and non-scientists 
> alike (witness the very public critiques of the Bush administration’s 
> science practices by the Union of Concerned Scientists, for example), 
> the role of science and technology in structuring both the boundaries 
> and possibilities of our everyday lives continues to escalate. STS 
> scholars are uniquely positioned to address these tensions and to 
> offer new insights into the interactions of science, technology, and 
> publics through work in both historical and contemporary contexts. 
> Yet, this move towards a more interventionist or reconstructivist STS 
> – “a rapproachment between the more academic and more activist wings 
> of STS,” as Woodhouse, Hess, Breyman, and Martin (2002) describe it – 
> has deep historical roots within a field that emerged, in part, via 
> the movements of activist scientists working to produce science for 
> the public and second wave feminist critiques of science and medicine 
> in the 1960s and 1970s. Thus, to pursue a more interventionist or 
> reconstructivist STS agenda of research, policymaking, and activism – 
> and other future directions – it seems necessary to simultaneously 
> revisit our past and the emergence of the field of Science & 
> Technology Studies, as well as to assess our current locations.
>
>
>  This conference is part of a year-long celebration of the 25th 
> anniversary of STS at Virginia Tech. As part of the conference 
> program, we seek to include histories of many of the “official” and 
> “unofficial” sites of STS throughout the world. Your assistance in 
> gathering these narratives will be greatly appreciated. Email  
> STS_revolutions at vt.edu  to contribute.
>
>
> ** Call for Papers **
>  We are interested in papers that address the past, present, and 
> futures of the field of Science & Technology Studies, particularly 
> those that explore the interrelationships of these narratives. Here, 
> we envision possible topics such as:
> 	• 	 * Histories of STS: Alternative, Competing or Co-existing 
> Lineages?
> 	• 	* STS and Disciplines: The Politics of Collaboration and 
> Non-Collaboration
> 	• 	* STS Outside the Academy: Practices, Promises, and Perils
> 	• 	* STS in the Global North and South: Divisions, Connections, or 
> Both?
> 	• 	* “Doing STS” – New Methodological Directions and Practices
> 	• 	* The Science Wars 10 Years Out: Meanings, Lessons, Ongoing 
> Challenges
> 	• 	* “So, you have a PhD in STS”: The Effects of “Disciplinarity” on 
> the Field
> 	• 	* Mainstreaming “Difference”: Incorporating issues of difference – 
> gender, race, class, nationality, sexual orientation, and so forth – 
> across STS at large
> 	• 	* Science Studies vs. Technology Studies – or is it all 
> Technoscience?
>
>
>  ** New Directions in STS **
> In addition to these broad discussions, we highly encourage the 
> submission of papers that showcase New Directions in STS – papers that 
> identify emerging research trends and explore new subject areas from 
> new vantage points with new tools. We have identified the following 
> areas of interest, though this list is by no means exhaustive: 
> Science, Technology, and Citizenship: Science and Technology in a Post 
> 9-11 World; Science and Engineering Education; The Corporatization of 
> the University; and Activism in Local and Global Communities. Papers 
> addressing a wide variety of topics are welcome. 
>
>
>  ** Roundtables on More Practical Matters **
> Further, we are interested in coordinating sessions or round-tables 
> that discuss more practical matters such as professional development 
> for graduate students and new faculty; how to get a job and tenure as 
> an interdisciplinary scholar; how to get a job outside the academy; 
> and so forth. Participants are welcome to coordinate full sessions or 
> to request that they be part of specific roundtables that we will 
> organize. 
>
>
>  ** Final Details **
> We especially welcome papers from students and young researchers, 
> particularly those from the Global South. Small travel grants will be 
> available on request depending upon resource availability.
>
>
>  Abstracts of 250 words should be submitted electronically to  
> STS_revolutions at vt.edu  by November 15, 2004.
>
>
Jeremy Hunsinger
Center for Digital Discourse and Culture
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