On 28th May, Pierre Delvenne from University of Liege, Belgium will visit the STS methods lab. Here is an excerpt from the talk:
Since its origins with the Edinburgh School and the Radical Science Movement, STS has grounded itself in a principle of symmetry and has taken as its mission to democratize science. Showing how scientific facts are contingent, and promoting epistemic pluralist and public talk on scientific issues, has been the normal mode of STS critique. But what happens when publics deny climate change and take a stand against vaccines? Is the STS aim at democratizing science out of date? Should STS remain critical of science, and if so, how? Interestingly, what the current scientific, environmental and democracy crisis demonstrates is that the principle of co-production applies: When publics protest against science, they are probably protesting about the current social order and institutions. Maybe new forms of STS critique will need to be more creative and make suggestions in thinking about alter social orders?