Conference on social studies of science and technology held in Braga on 7 and 8 September

With the objective of sharing and discussing the research carried out in Portugal in the interdisciplinary field of social studies of science, about 40 researchers met in Braga on September 7 and 8. The conference was organized by the Knowledge, Science and Technology Thematic Section of the Portuguese Sociological Association and by CECS. It was also supported by the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL).

The opening lecture was given by Ulrike Felt, professor at the University of Vienna and President of the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST), and was entitled “Academic line-ups: on life-lines, time-lines and trajectories towards the future”. Ulrike Felt analyzed some of the directions of time and temporality(ies) in academia and science. She showed how the emphasis on innovation and the conception of market-oriented teaching and research imply profound changes in the ways of working and in the identities of scientists and academics. In this sense, Felt pointed to the relevance of turning time into a topic of discussion and debate in decision-making contexts (see video on the CECS Youtube Channel, here).

On the first day of the conference, parallel sessions were held at ICS dedicated to the themes of “Science Policy”; “Changes and Risk”; “Collaboration and Networks”; “Science and Reflexivity”; and “Regulation, Science and Technology”. On September 8, the conference continued at INL, and began with parallel sessions on “Communication and Science” and “Participation and Science”.  Giving expression to CECS’ vocation to develop active collaborations with other institutions, as well as with the surrounding community as a whole, a public roundtable was also organized during the conference focused on “Nanotechnologies and Society: From Research to Citizenship”. With the participation of sociologists Ana Viseu and António Carvalho, and Lorena Diéguez and Lorenzo Pastrana, representing the research carried out at INL, the event raised attention to science as a deeply social activity, which has diverse implications and calls for interdisciplinary approaches.

Complete information, here

Text: Anabela Carvalho and Emília Araújo

Photos: Fábio Ribeiro and Vítor de Sousa