Workshop: Fostering Collaboration between Sociolegal Studies and Science and Technology Studies

Drexel University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal will fund a two day workshop to bring together scholars from sociolegal studies (SLS) and science and technology studies (STS). The workshop will introduce scholars to key concepts, methods, objects, and sites of study across the two fields of study. Conference participants will identify new sites for intellectual production through cross-fertilization of research perspectives. In addition to offering established scholars a new, rich set of tools, the workshop lays the groundwork for facilitating collaborative research projects between scholars in each field, and for integrating core concepts from each field into the teaching and training of graduate students. The workshop will develop a research agenda to bring new perspectives to the study of crime and violence, health, and energy and environment that will contribute to improving graduate education and policy makers decision making. SLS and STS are both mature, interdisciplinary fields that examine the production of knowledge, policies, and practices. Each field has a different yet valuable focus on societal institutions that are often presented as generating outcomes (laws, discoveries) while their inner workings remain invisible. Law and society scholars study law and courts as social processes and practices. STS scholars focus on science, medicine and technology, examining new technologies and the emergence of new scientific fields. Although some law and society scholars focus on science and technology, many do not bring the same critical attention to legally-relevant technologies as they do to the making, implementation, or interpretation of law itself. Similarly, although some STS scholars often focus on policy-in-the-making, the field does not tend to follow policies and laws in action. The workshop aims to bring these two fields in dialogue with each other, offering opportunities to learn about each field?s theoretical contributions, methodological approaches, and organizing questions. The workshop will be hosted at Drexel University in Philadelphia. The schedule will include an overview of core concepts in each discipline, and a series of discussions between the two areas of scholarship to identify synergies and common nodes of analysis. It will contribute to identifying gaps and new curriculum in the study of crime and violence, health, and energy and environment.