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Posted Thu, 10 Jan 2008 12:52:55
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Dear Colleagues,

 

We are preparing for the second workshop (Brussels, May 6-7 2008) to be
held in conjunction with our project, 'Knowledge Politics and New
Converging Technologies: A Social Science Perspective.'  I would very
much appreciate it if you could distribute the call for papers to people
in your networks. The call is in the e-mail below and attached.

 

I apologise in advance for duplicate postings.

 

With best wishes for 2008,

 

Jacquelyne Luce

 

 

 

Zeppelin University 

Bridging Business, Culture and Politics

 

Jacquelyne Luce, PhD
Research Fellow KNOWLEDGE NBIC
Karl-Mannheim-Chair for Cultural Studies

 

Am Seemooser Horn 20
D-88045 Friedrichshafen | Bodensee

 

Tel:      +49 7541 6009-1344
Fax:     +49 7541 6009-1399
E-Mail:  [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
Home:   www.zeppelin-university.de <http://www.zeppelin-university.de> 

 

 

 

 

CALL FOR PAPERS 

Knowledge Politics and Converging Technologies 

6-7 May 2008, Brussels, Belgium 

 

Knowledge politics delineates the field of activities designed and
implemented for the purpose of monitoring, regulating or even
controlling the production and application of new knowledge gained
through science and technology. Such activities are not new but have
gained importance in the course of the 1990s with the rise of
biotechnology and life sciences more generally. In view of its promise
to enhance human performance through even greater interventions in the
body, mind, and environment, converging technologies promises to become
another virulent field of knowledge politics. 

Knowledge politics with respect to converging technologies is evidently
one of those fields that is difficult to engage in - even as a
researcher - without becoming enthralled in normative argumentation. The
argument in favour of knowledge politics is that contemporary (and
future) knowledge is intrinsically different from knowledge of earlier
times because it will enable us to manipulate not only the human and
built environment but also ourselves and fellow human beings. Therefore,
new knowledge entails a potential for physical and social engineering
that can be neither dismissed nor relayed to ad-hoc regulatory
procedures, but rather calls for the development of new processes and
tools. Those arguing against knowledge politics point to the latter's
inextricable tendency towards the policing of science and research, thus
threatening to arrest progress, discovery and learning. At the symbolic
level, knowledge politics represents the modern version of an
existentialist quest for the meaning of life. As a social fact, it
represents the contemporary edition of the conflict about the role,
extent and scope of social regulation. 

The aim of this workshop is twofold: to reflect on the meaning and
implications of knowledge politics in general; and to draw out
theoretical conclusions about how knowledge politics in the field of
life sciences and converging technologies can be expected to impact on
science and research, on the one hand, and on democratic deliberative
institutional practices, on the other hand. Some of the thematic areas
to be explored are: 

 

* Forms of governance and regulation for converging technologies
(principles of governance; regulatory frameworks; deliberative
processes) 

* Social and political contexts of knowledge politics (social, economic
and political conditions; anticipatory governance; scope of influence;
ethical considerations) 

* Science, industry and political interfaces (knowledge transfer;
public-private ventures; economic infrastructure) 

* Practicing knowledge politics (risk assessment of converging
technologies; the role of expert committees; engaging civil society;
democratizing science) 

 

Theoretical papers and papers based on empirical research are welcome
from academics working in the field and practitioners from civil
society, industry and public policy. Comparisons of knowledge policies
and politics across scientific fields or countries are encouraged. 

 

Submission Details: Abstracts should be at least 500 words in length and
be submitted by the 25th January, 2008 electronically at
[log in to unmask] Authors should indicate their name(s)
and the title of their paper and include a short biographical note (75
words) with coordinates (institutional affiliation, telephone, fax, and
e-mail). Full papers (at least 6,000 words in length) of selected
participants will be due by the 15th April, 2008. Publication of the
conference proceedings is foreseen. 

Financial assistance for travel expenditures will be available in select
cases. 




 


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