Nancy’s Blog

From MIT Press:

The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies, Third Edition
Edited by Edward J. Hackett, Olga Amsterdamska, Michael Lynch and Judy Wajcman
$55.00/£35.95 (CLOTH)

Science and Technology Studies is a flourishing interdisciplinary field that examines the creation, development, and consequences of science and technology in their cultural, historical, and social contexts. The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies provides a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the field, reviewing current research and major theoretical and methodological approaches and analyzing emergent issues in a form that is accessible to new and established scholars from a range of disciplines. Handbook chapters review the dominant theoretical perspectives of S&TS, present the current state of research on a spectrum of topics in the field, analyze changes brought about by the commercialization of science, study interactions between science and other institutions, examine the role of experts and the public in scientific and technological decision making, and consider the cultural and social dimensions of new technologies.

The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies is the third in a series of volumes sponsored by the Society for Social Studies of Science that have defined the field of Science and Technology Studies. It will be an essential resource for scholars in S&TS as well as for those in such neighboring disciplines as anthropology, history, philosophy, sociology, law, political science, feminist and critical theory, and literary studies.

Published in cooperation with the Society for Social Studies of Science.

Call For Papers:

Bio[X]: New Iterations of Lively Bodies

Science Studies Graduate Student Conference

Friday, February 23rd, 2007

University of California, Santa Cruz

The UC Santa Cruz Science Studies Cluster and the UC Science, Technology and Society Network will be hosting a joint graduate student conference February 23^rd 2007 in Santa Cruz. We hope to provide an opportunity for advanced graduate students to present their research in Science Studies and establish networks across the Northern California UC campuses. Our theme is deliberately broad in order to bring graduate students from a multitude of disciplines into trans-disciplinary conversations.

We seek contributions that interrupt traditional realms of ‘bio.’ The theme Bio[X] stands for lively intra-actions of the biological, biosocial, biopolitical, bioethical, and biocapital. Our exploration of Bio[X] aims to address the scientific making of bodies and meanings that affect articulations of bodies and their materialities, mobilities, and tangibility. New iterations of lively bodies may include, but are not limited to, the following topics: the role of ‘new’ technologies in biological practices, the movement and constitution of whole and partial bodies across international and national boundaries, human/non-human determinations and relations, apparatuses of information development and codification, questions of temporality and material agency in biological practice, and governance and justice in the making of bodies and bodily practice.

The 1-day conference will consist of 5-6 panels, each with a faculty respondent. In order to leave plenty of time for discussion and feedback, please limit your presentation to 15 minutes. Please choose up to three themes from the following overlapping session titles that may apply to your paper topic:

Mobile Bodies and Trans-Regionalities
Trans, Species and Opportunities
Biocapital, Governance, and Justice
Classification Practices, Ontologies, and Ethics
Affects & Epistemes

The Politics of Liveliness

The submission deadline for abstracts is December 8^th 2006. Please send a 200-300 (max) word abstract, with your name, e-mail, institutional affiliation, and session selections to stsgrads@gmail.com. Also let us know about any media needs for your presentation. Any inquiries will be answered by e-mail to stsgrads@gmail.com. In urgent cases you may also call Mary Weaver at (831) 471-9216.

I’m teaching two courses in the spring that are both, in essence, special topics seminars.

One, IS212, I teach regularly, is, in essence, Science and Technoloogy Studies (STS) as applied to information systems. It has a core of STS readings, but with a lot of variability (within and in addition to STS) to accomodate who’s in the course and people’s interests. The best description is the website from the last time I taught it, 2 years ago. It’s scheduled Mon 1-4, but if the class size is what I’ve seen in last years, about 10-15, we may be able to vary that if we can come up with a time that suits everyone in the class. Students who have taken the course before may take it again as an independent study; you should check with me. Since the content varies, it’s not the same course from year to year.

The other is a new, special topics course, I290-3, New Media Meets Visual Studies, TuTh 2-3:30. I’ m still developing it. Below is the official description; there’s a longer and more recent description here. I have never taught this and have no idea who will show up. The content will depend in part on who the participants are. (If there are people interested in participating who have ideas about what they would like to see in the course, let me know; I may or may not incorporate your suggestions.)

This course takes a social science approach to new media, specifically visual media. The social sciences are concerned with visual media in two ways: as research tools, and as a topic of research. As research tools, visual media are created and analyzed in field research, and used in publication. As a research topic, visual media represent a significant form of activity and communication. People are increasingly using new technologies and media, including digital photography, cameraphones, video, and the internet, to create and use visual media for new purposes.

We will explore a variety of issues related to both these approaches. Our primary orientation is from the social sciences, not the humanities, but both are needed to understand this topic. In addition, we’ll look at the technologies involved.

This course should be of interest to students in the social sciences, computer science, and the humanities who are interested in expanding their understanding of the uses of visual media and methods of studying them. This will be a highly-participatory seminar, with students expected to contribute to the discussion from their own discipline and to learn about other disciplines’ approaches and understandings.