Science and Democracy Network Workshop, Cambridge, MA, July 2004

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This grant provides travel support for participants in the third of a series of annual workshops on Science and Democracy, to be held in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The workshop's primary goals are to (1) improve scholarship in science and technology studies (S&TS) on science and democracy, and (2) train younger S&TS scholars to participate more effectively in decision processes and public affairs. The workshop advances these objectives by (a) promoting scholarship on the democratic steering, conduct, and uses of science and technology; (b) improving the quality and dissemination of participants' research; (c) connecting the normative and political analysis of science and technology more closely to work in adjacent disciplines; (d) communicating perspectives from S&TS to policy actors and contributing to social problem-solving; and (e) creating an international network of scholars and practitioners interested in the democratic governance of science and technology. The workshop will focus around three core themes of institutions, citizenship and participation, and representation and communication and provide opportunities for critical intellectual exchange, synthesis, and cross-disciplinary contact. The workshop's broader impacts include the training of young professionals, fostering national and international scientific communication, and building an improved knowledge base for public policy. Young scholars participating in the workshop will benefit from networking opportunities, scrutiny of methodological and theoretical issues, and engagement with senior scholars, scientists, and policy practitioners. The workshop will highlight policy issues of importance to the United States and the global community and promote dialogue among an interdisciplinary, worldwide network of scholars. The Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), an international and interdisciplinary society, will co-sponsor the workshop. Participants will be recruited from a diverse array of professional communities, including the European Association for Studies of Science and Technology, the American Political Science Association, History of Science Society, and Society for History of Technology, among others. A website will publicize the workshop and provide information about its outcomes. Important results will be disseminated through 4S journals and newsletters and in other venues as appropriate.