4S/EASST Science and Technology by Other Means - Exploring collectives, spaces and futures

From 31 August to 3 September,  Daniel López and Israel Rodríguez, from the IN3 research group CareNet (Care & Preparedness in the Network Society) together with researchers from the UAB, CSIC, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the University of Warwik and the Munich Center for Technology & Society, organizes the conference 4S/EASST Science and technology by other means: Exploring collectives, spaces and futures.

Venue

Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB)
Plaça de Willy Brandt, 11-14
08019 Barcelona
Espanya

When

31/08/2016 - 03/09/2016

Organized by

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, CareNet (Care & Preparedness in the Network Society) IN3 research group

Program

The conference will take place at the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) and will be devoted to exploring the ways in which science and technology are increasingly performed “by other means”. This includes citizen science and knowledge produced by collectives that do not fit with the traditional criteria of expertise, for example, patient collectives and organizations. Additionally, it includes new spaces of social and community innovation, such as DIY design spaces and maker communities, which are also removed from traditional centres and models of innovation. Finally, the idea of science and technology “by other means” also includes the problematization of contemporary values and methods of scientific and technological production: from working conditions to evaluation practices and the economization of science and technology. 

The number of participants has already reached 1940, an absolute record for a conference dedicated to the field of Science, Technology and Society (STS), an emerging interdisciplinary field of the social sciences with a mere 50 years of history. In addition to contributing to the organization of the conference, another 17 UOC researchers will participate as speakers. In total, representation of Spain comes in fifth place, with 96 representatives, just behind countries like the UK (343), the US (337), Germany (203) and Holland (145).

The conference will also feature two plenary sessions: On Wednesday, 31 August (6 to 7:30 pm) Madeleine Akrich (Mines ParisTech) and Michelle Murphy (University of Toronto) will discuss, from the perspective of their respective works, “To what extent is embodied knowledge a form of science and technology by other means?”. Friday, 2 September (6 to 7:30 pm), the philosopher Isabelle Stengers (Université Libre de Bruxelles) will talk about “Catastrophes and promises of science and technology by other means”.

There will also be a conference dinner at Poble Espanyol (2 September, 9 pm - 1:00 am). Although there are only a few places still available, if you are interested in attending the dinner, whether or not you are registered for the conference, contact:  sts2016bcn@gmail.com

For more information about the conference activities, presentations and speakers, visit:

http://www.sts2016bcn.org/

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