We are pleased to announce the EASST 2002 Conference, on the theme of
'Responsibility under Uncertainty: Science, Technology and
Accountability' -
an outline of the theme is given below.  The conference will take place
at
the University of York, UK, from 31st July to 3rd August 2002.

The call for papers and other conference information are available at
http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/easst2002/.  Deadline for sessions is
30th
November 2001, and for papers 18th January 2002.  There is a noticeboard
on
the website to allow session proposers to recruit potential
participants, to
exchange thoughts, ideas etc, and later on to discuss practical
arrangements.  There is also information about registration,
accommodation,
fees etc. - please note that the site is being updated frequently, and
some
information may still be subject to change.

Please email [log in to unmask] to receive leaflets
and/or posters in the mail, or for any other queries.

Conference Theme
Responsibility under Uncertainty: Science, Technology and Accountability

A key concern for science and technology studies has been to explore and
deconstruct the privileging of science and technology as forms of
knowledge
and practice. More recently, this work has been increasingly accompanied
by
attempts to build a more accountable science and technology anchored in
a
more explicit normative and reflexive discourse. Much of the empirical
work
in STS has demonstrated that things could have been otherwise -
materially,
culturally and institutionally. The move towards a politics of and
policy
for science, technology, medicine and engineering that recognises, but
is
not paralysed by, uncertainty has marked recent debate.  At the same
time,
science and technology have themselves become politicised
and in turn active in the shaping of politics and policy agendas and
concerns. The language of uncertainty and ‘precaution’ and an attempt to
enlist rather than enthral the users of science and technology prevail
today.  Some have argued that science and technology occupy a position
in
the public sphere that demands their implications be considered at the
outset, and not simply when developments are at a point of application.
It
could be argued that there is a shift towards what can be called
anticipatory science and technology.

These changes have raised many questions for STS as well as
opportunities
for the field to develop analyses that acknowledge the intertwined
status of
its technical and social ‘uncertainty’.  This poses a key question which
forms the focus for this conference: drawing on the diverse theoretical
and
methodological traditions of STS is it possible, or desirable, to
provide a
new framework within which an ‘anticipatory science and technology’ can
be
grounded in new forms of social accountability and trust?

There are a number of issues this conference hopes to address
surrounding
anticipatory science and technology. These relate to a range of
concerns, as
follows:

· how is it possible to understand and respond to the contested futures
for
science and technology and how are agendas shaped by the agency of
different
social groups and publics?
· can STS develop new approaches to technology assessment that
incorporate a
more nuanced understanding of uncertainty and ambiguity?
· what new forms of governance and institutional developments are
required
to manage anticipatory science and technology in the ‘public sphere’
over
coming decades?
· how might it be possible to respond to commercial and political
investment
in new sciences and technologies whose social and technical implications
are
uncertain; how, given this uncertainty, can they be held accountable?
· how can STS analyses provide for a better understanding of the
contemporary and future forms of social division and inequality that
reflect
and are generated by socio-technical systems?
· how can we develop new methodologies that ensure that STS itself is
‘made
accountable’ in terms of the questions it asks of science and
technology,
and the ways in which it tries to answer them?
These themes are of interest not only to academic researchers but also
to
those working in government policy, the science, engineering and medical
professions, and lay associations concerned with science and the media.

Contributions will be welcome from the range of disciplines found within
the
broad field of science and technology studies, including those working
within the sociology of science and technology, science and technology
policy, innovation studies, the history of science and
technology/engineering, public understanding of science and technology,
comparative international work, and futures and risk analysis.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Paul Rosen
   for EASST 2002 Local Organising Committee
[log in to unmask]
http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/easst2002