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Dear colleagues,
We have proposed an open panel for this year’s 4S/EASST conference which
may be of interest for some of you. Please find the call for papers below.
Political devices (open panel no. 65)
From the outset, science and technology studies (STS) has been very
good at detecting and discussing the politics of seemingly neutral and
functional devices in the societal fabric (such as laboratories,
hospitals, factories, museums, and innovation centres) by examining the
work that goes into their construction and operation. Interestingly,
however, it has paid rather little attention to devices within politics,
that is, artefacts that constitute the infrastructure of democracy and
governing itself. These devices, on the one hand, include parliaments,
parties, electoral systems, courts, and regulatory agencies, all of
which are expected to function as core components of a 'political
system', performing a political community and its collective decisions.
On the other hand, they include policy instruments, modes of governance,
and regulatory mechanisms that are often treated as calculable
generators of specified social outcomes, ready for use anywhere, at any
time. If we look at how these artefacts are treated in policy processes
and public discourse, we are faced with 'black boxes' at the very heart
of politics. Mobilising an STS perspective and repertoire, this panel
invites papers to open up these black boxes, interrogate their making
and use, and discuss what makes them political.
We are glad to receive proposals for contributions through the website
of the conference at http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/ssss/4s12/.
In order to submit an abstract as part of the panel please tick the box
for open panel 65 'Political Devices' towards the bottom of the
submission form. According to general conference guidelines, abstracts,
of 250 words or less, must include a summary of the paper’s main
arguments and methodology, as well as a brief statement on the
contribution to the STS literature.
The deadline for submission is March 11, 2012 (Acceptance notification
will be given by May 1, 2012).
Both conveners of the panel are happy to answer any further questions
and look forward to linking up on the issues of the call, at the conference.
Endre Danyi, [log in to unmask]
Jan-Peter Voß, [log in to unmask]
Technische Universitaet Berlin
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