We are excited to have been able to come back with the STS Helsinki seminar series after a hiatus this spring.
The new, now virtual programme was kicked off on 3 December with a talk by Ilpo Helén on the concept of sociotechnical. A video recording of the seminar is now available and will stay up until 18 December. If you missed the event as it happened, you can listen Helén’s talk on the University of Helsinki video service:
STS Helsinki will host the working group ‘Science, technology and society’ at The Annual conference of the Westermarck Society 2021 in Helsinki 11–12 March 2021. This year the theme of the conference is sociology of hope. Keynote speakers include Matthew Desmond and Akwugo Emejulu.
The conference will be organized partly online and partly on-campus in Helsinki, if possible. All working groups in the 2021 conference will take place online on Zoom.
Science, technology and society
Co-ordinators:
Marianne Mäkelin, University of Helsinki, marianne.makelin[at]helsinki.fi
Vera Raivola, University of Eastern Finland, vera.raivola[at]veripalvelu.fi
Jose A. Cañada, jose.a.canada[at]helsinki.fi
Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary field of study that examines the interaction between society, science, and technology. STS pays attention to how different fields, such as law, politics, and everyday life, become intertwined with science and technology. This is relevant when thinking about heatedly debated topics as diverse as climate change, the role of experts, medicine, genetics, gender, robotics or organic food. The field calls for a deeper understanding of the development, processes, practices and outcomes of such social phenomena. STS explores the mechanisms behind knowledge claims and ontological assumptions that guide our everyday. Or, as a prominent STS scholar, Steve Woolgar, has said: STS looks at how the world defined by science and technology “could be otherwise”.
STS Helsinki calls for theoretical, methodological and empirical papers on current research in social studies of science. Papers both in Finnish and English are welcome. The aim of this working group is to offer a forum to discuss the practices that contribute to the shaping of technoscientific objects and subjects. How is scientific knowledge established and negotiated, and how do historical processes contribute to the development of certain technologies? We especially welcome papers that reflect on the role of hope in the field of STS. This working group is defined as a meeting point for both Finnish and international scholars to share and discuss their work with others studying science, technology and society.
Please apply to the working group by sending your abstract to the working group coordinators. The deadline is Friday 29th January 2021. The maximum length of abstracts is 300 words and they should be in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format. Deadline has been extended until 12 February!
We are happy to continue our seminar series in December with a talk by Ilpo Helén:
3 December, 14:15–15:45
What does ”sociotechnical” imply?
Conceptual fieldwork with a case of data mining in healthcare
Ilpo Helén’s talk is about a trend in many discussions of social sciences to replace “social” with “sociotechnical” both as the subject of study and as an attribute. He elaborates what “sociotechnical” as a concept possibly implies in the context of this tendency, with focus on Bruno Latour’s critique of sociological theory and his suggestion of ‘sociology of associations’. Finally, Helén asks how the idea of ‘sociotechnical’ and Latour’s ‘sociology of associations’ would work in an empirical study, using a case of datafication-in-the-making in healthcare as an illustrative example.
Ilpo Helén is a professor of sociology in University of Eastern Finland
Join the seminar via Zoom:
Topic: STS Helsinki Seminar Series // Ilpo Helén: What does ”sociotechnical” imply?
Time: Dec 3, 2020 02:15 PM Helsinki
https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/62327438269?pwd=RTdGZHd0SDAxR3VWc1VrRnFFT09tZz09
Meeting ID: 623 2743 8269
Passcode: 170980
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Dear all,
If you are a Finland-based researcher (or happen to be around during the time of the conference) attending the EASST/4S annual meeting between the 18th and the 21st of August, please keep reading. If you are not, remember that they offer a more economic “Non-presenter” registration that gives access to all the panels and sessions of the conference.
STS Helsinki and the Finnish Society for Science and Technology Studies organise the local F2F EASST/4S meeting get-together on Friday, 21st of August from 18 onwards, after Suplenary 1 “Locating matters”, which will take place via Zoom. For those in Helsinki (or visiting), the plan is to meet after the session in Kaisla (Vilhonkatu 4) to share some drinks and reflections on the conference. Participants in other Finnish cities are encouraged to organise parallel meetings!
Since organising a viewing session for the plenary seems unfeasible given the circumstances, some people (those who feel comfortable with it) might want to organise smaller groups to watch the plenary with some company. If you want to find others or help with the coordination of the get-together, please join our WhatsApp chat group.
Please be aware that the actual happening of the get-together depends, of course, on the recommendations and regulations of the Finnish government regarding the pandemic. We hope to get the chance of making the now virtual EASST/4S meeting a bit less virtual!
Best,
The coordinating team
Heta Tarkkala, Jose A. Cañada, and Minna Saariketo
Edit: This event has been cancelled.
Thu 19 March 14:15–15:45, Room 7, Metsätalo, Fabianinkatu 39.
Małgorzata Rajtar, associate Professor, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Health Passports and Vulnerability: The Case of Rare Diseases
Abstract:
Rare diseases have held a special status within health policy of the European Union (EU) since the 1990s. According to key EU legal documents on this issue, patients who suffer from a rare disease are entitled to the same good quality care as others. Due to the “low prevalence” of each rare disease and simultaneously the large total number of patients affected by them – between 27 and 36 million people in the EU – individuals who belong to this group are regarded as particularly vulnerable.
My aims in this presentation are twofold. First, I examine current notions of vulnerability prevalent in social sciences, bioethics as well as research ethics, specifically in regard to people living with rare diseases. Second, I analyze “instruments” developed by health policies that are tailored to rare diseases. By focusing on the so called “health passport”, I argue that such policies often increase the danger of paternalistic practices and may contribute to discrimination and stigmatizing.
Małgorzata Rajtar, PhD is Associate Professor and the Head of Rare Disease Social Research Center in the Institute of Philosophy & Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw (http://rdsrc.ifispan.pl/en/). She was a EURIAS Senior Fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies in Finland (2018-2019) as well as an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow at the Freie University in Berlin, Germany (2011-2013) among others. Since 2016 she has been conducting ethnographic research on rare metabolic diseases in the Baltic Region.
29 January, 14.15-15.45 Room 10, Metsätalo, Fabianinkatu 39.
Jose A. Cañada, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Local enactments of global health: thinking about scale-making with microbes
Abstract
What does it take for a phenomenon to be global? How many countries or regions need to engage with it? How does the material manifest in the global scale? Existing literature has argued that the global is not so by itself, but it is made of locally situated practices mostly enacted from Western technoscientific and policy spaces (e.g. Blok, 2010; Law, 2004; Tsing, 2005). Its impact, on the other hand, has the potential to be much wider than that. This is a topic of great relevance when looking at global health policies, the priorities that they formulate, and the implementations that they propose – although it applies to many globally formulated challenges such as climate, sustainability, or innovation, especially when elaborated in terms of development.
The session will reflect on the relevance of scale-making in global health challenges and, more specifically, in those that are formulated around the activity of microbial forms of life, such as pandemic threats and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These cases are especially interesting because besides the complexities of the multi-scalar character of the global, they must deal with the microscopic scale of viruses and bacteria. This entails a struggle to make visible (or at least perceptible) something that is not for most involved actors. This mobilizes the use of different methods and practices (some more technical than others).
In global health, scale-making must be taken into account not only as part of the studied field, but also in our own practices as social researchers. Consequently, the lecture will formulate questions of relevance to scale-making not only from the perspective of how it is carried out by those who do global health, but also from the perspective of its study as a sociotechnical activity, reflecting on the methodological and analytical implications of studying global phenomena in situated spaces.
Jose A. Cañada is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences. He has a PhD from the University of Helsinki (2018). He has been especially interested in the production of knowledge and material practices associated to sociotechnical controversies, working on topics such as pandemic preparedness and response, biobanking and the development of water infrastructures. He is currently working in the project Social study of antimicrobial resistance: health care, animals, and ethics (SoSAMiRe), where he studies issues related to AMR global policy-making, knowledge production, and implementation.
The STS Helsinki Seminar Series is a seminar series by the STS Helsinki research collective. Our aim is to create a space for in-depth conversations about current research in Science and Technology Studies (STS). The topics cover a wide range of contemporary issues, such as climate change, the role of experts, medicine, genetics, gender, robotics or organic food. The seminars function as a platform for strengthening the STS community in Finland and bringing STS to new audiences. All scholars, students and audiences interested in the interaction between science, society and technology are welcome!
Seminar programme / Spring 2020
Wed 29 January, 14.15-15.45 Room 10, Metsätalo, Fabianinkatu 39.
Jose A. Cañada, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Local enactments of global health: thinking about scale-making with microbes
Wed 26 February 14:15-15:45 Room 11, Metsätalo, Fabianinkatu 39.
Steven Fuller, professor, University of Warwick
Social Epistemology and STS: Can They Survive the Post-Truth Condition?
Thu 19 March 14:15-15:45 Room 7, Metsätalo, Fabianinkatu 39.
Malgorzata Rajtar, associate Professor, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Health Passports and Vulnerability: The Case of Rare Diseases
Thu 16 April 14:15-15:45 Room 12, Metsätalo, Fabianinkatu 39.
Ilpo Helen, professor of Sociology, University of Eastern Finland
What does ”sociotechnical” imply? Conceptual fieldwork with a case of data mining in health care
Thu 14 May 14:15-15:45 Room 7, Metsätalo, Fabianinkatu 39.
Sampsa Hyysalo, professor of co-design, Aalto School of, Art, Design and Architecture
Method matters in the social study of technology: Investigating the biographies of artifacts and practices.
During the Spring 2020 following Science & Technology Studies related courses are offered for the students (the list will be updated!):
PAST COURSES (Fall 2019):
THE RISE OF AI SOCIETY
MID-TERM WORKSHOP ORGANIZED BY RN24 (SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY NETWORK) OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
MAY 28-29 2020; HELSINKI, FINLAND
During the past few years, numerous countries and organizations have published dozens of policies and strategies regarding the development of artificial intelligence. The permeation of AI, machine learning and algorithmic thinking into an increasing number of facets of everyday life, from banking and medicine to transportation and law suggests that AI is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in society. For science and technology studies (STS) this provides a unique opportunity to study and understand social and technological change. Not least since the development of AI touches upon so many of the central themes within STS.
This workshop invites presentations which examine the rise of AI in society and the consequences that is has in everyday life. Possible topics for presentation topics may include, but is not limited to:
We invite contributions from researchers at all stages of the academic career, but we particularly encourage early career researchers to submit abstracts. Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words.
Keynote speakers:
Ilpo Helén (University of Eastern Finland): What do algorithms do? An approach for a sociology of datafication of health care.
Francis Lee (Uppsala University): The Politics of Algorithms: The Challenge of AI, Big Data and Digitalization for Social Inquiry
Abstract submission deadline is January 20, 2020. Abstracts should be submitted to aaro.tupasela@helsinki.fi.
For further information please contact Aaro Tupasela (aaro.tupasela@helsinki.fi) or Heta Tarkkala (heta.tarkkala@helsinki.fi)
STS Helsinki will host the working group ‘Science, technology and society’ at The Annual conference of the Westermarck Society 2020 in Rovaniemi 26–27 March 2020.The theme of the conference is community, and keynote speakers include John Clarke, Open University, Mia Liinason, University of Gothenburg, Nira Yuval-Davis, University of East London, Sanna Valkonen and Áile Aikio, University of Lapland, and Sigga-Marja Magga, University of Oulu.
Please send your abstract of maximum 300 words to the working group co-ordinators no later than 15 January. Edit: The deadline for abstracts has been extended until 31 January.
Science, technology and society
Co-ordinators:
Jose A. Cañada, University of Helsinki, jose.a.canada (at) helsinki.fi
Marianne Mäkelin, University of Helsinki, marianne.makelin (at) helsinki.fi
Vera Raivola, University of Eastern Finland, vera.raivola (at) veripalvelu.fi
Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary field of study that examines the interaction between society, science, and technology. STS pays attention to how different fields, such as law, politics, and everyday life, become intertwined with science and technology. This is relevant when thinking about heatedly debated topics as diverse as climate change, the role of experts, medicine, genetics, gender, robotics or organic food. The field calls for a deeper understanding of the development, processes, practices and outcomes of such social phenomena. STS explores the mechanisms behind knowledge claims and ontological assumptions that guide our everyday. Or, how a prominent STS scholar, Steve Woolgar, has said: look at how the world defined by science and technology “could be otherwise”.
STS Helsinki calls for theoretical, methodological and empirical papers on current research in social studies of science. Papers both in Finnish and English are welcome. The aim of this working group is to offer a forum to discuss the practices that contribute to the shaping of technoscientific objects and subjects. How is scientific knowledge established and negotiated, and how historical processes contribute to the development of certain technologies? We also welcome papers that reflect on the role communities in the field of STS. This working group is defined as a meeting point for both Finnish and international scholars to share and discuss their work with others studying science, technology and society.