15th Annual STS Conference Graz 2016 - Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies
9-10 May 2016
Call for Papers for conference session "From Countercultural to Commercial — Social Change and Sustainability in Making and Design"
Over the past decade, there has been an increasing attention to the rise and impact of do-it-yourself (DIY)-infused user interaction with technology design—that is, the social co-creation practices of making, hacking, DIY, and craft. From human-computer interaction and computer-supported collaborative work over design research to science and technology studies—all are contributing to a critical scholarship on the “cultures of making” (Bardzell et al. 2014). This research includes studies of communities of expert amateurs, fabrication and design methods and their relationship to technological innovation and democratization, practices of appropriation, reuse and repair of everyday objects. Coinciding with and supporting these cultures of making are on the one side learning environments such as makerspaces, repair cafes, meetups, online knowledge exchange, and on the other, the attribution of narratives on democratization of design and technology innovation and the sustainability and resourcefulness of technology.
However, a thorough examination reveals that often these narratives serve as a catalyst without undergoing a permanent change in the modes of technology design and production. It is debatable whether the remaking practice through (online) instructions foster the technological and design competences of users to become expert designers and producers. Similarly, the boundless distribution of artifacts and technical components contradicts the idea of a sustainable future.
The scope of this session, then, is to challenge the complex frameworks of labour, work practice and sustainability towards these user-driven practices and at the same time explore recent interdisciplinary engagements between practitioners of design and STS.
The session invites, but is not limited to, submissions addressing issues along the following questions:
- How do users contribute to the work practices of professional design and technology through their creative practices?
- What role does the empowering discourse as a performative idiom play and how does it differ from its application in reality?
- What is the relationship of the visible ‘countercultural’, ‘green’ image of the cultures of making to the invisible, commercial, unsustainable modes of manufacturing of technologies that support these practices?
The abstract (max. 500 words, 5 keywords, authors’ contact) should be submitted online. Please indicate the number of the session in which your presentation should be included. Abstracts and full papers (to be submitted after the conference) will be published as online-proceedings (ISSN).
Deadline for Abstracts: 29 January 2016
Notification on abstracts by: beginning/mid of February 2016.
If you have questions, please contact the track convenor yaboeva[at]yorku.ca.
9-10 May 2016
Call for Papers for conference session "From Countercultural to Commercial — Social Change and Sustainability in Making and Design"
Over the past decade, there has been an increasing attention to the rise and impact of do-it-yourself (DIY)-infused user interaction with technology design—that is, the social co-creation practices of making, hacking, DIY, and craft. From human-computer interaction and computer-supported collaborative work over design research to science and technology studies—all are contributing to a critical scholarship on the “cultures of making” (Bardzell et al. 2014). This research includes studies of communities of expert amateurs, fabrication and design methods and their relationship to technological innovation and democratization, practices of appropriation, reuse and repair of everyday objects. Coinciding with and supporting these cultures of making are on the one side learning environments such as makerspaces, repair cafes, meetups, online knowledge exchange, and on the other, the attribution of narratives on democratization of design and technology innovation and the sustainability and resourcefulness of technology.
However, a thorough examination reveals that often these narratives serve as a catalyst without undergoing a permanent change in the modes of technology design and production. It is debatable whether the remaking practice through (online) instructions foster the technological and design competences of users to become expert designers and producers. Similarly, the boundless distribution of artifacts and technical components contradicts the idea of a sustainable future.
The scope of this session, then, is to challenge the complex frameworks of labour, work practice and sustainability towards these user-driven practices and at the same time explore recent interdisciplinary engagements between practitioners of design and STS.
The session invites, but is not limited to, submissions addressing issues along the following questions:
- How do users contribute to the work practices of professional design and technology through their creative practices?
- What role does the empowering discourse as a performative idiom play and how does it differ from its application in reality?
- What is the relationship of the visible ‘countercultural’, ‘green’ image of the cultures of making to the invisible, commercial, unsustainable modes of manufacturing of technologies that support these practices?
The abstract (max. 500 words, 5 keywords, authors’ contact) should be submitted online. Please indicate the number of the session in which your presentation should be included. Abstracts and full papers (to be submitted after the conference) will be published as online-proceedings (ISSN).
Deadline for Abstracts: 29 January 2016
Notification on abstracts by: beginning/mid of February 2016.
If you have questions, please contact the track convenor yaboeva[at]yorku.ca.