We are delighted to be announcing the biennial ASSIST 2025 conference and invite contributions to its programme.
This conference of will take place at The University of Edinburgh between 2-3 June 2025.
Participants are invited to also stay on for a gala on 4th June 2025 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the publication of Donald MacKenzie and Judy Wajcman’s groundbreaking collection The Social Shaping of Technology, with invited keynote presentations from Donald MacKenzie, Judy Wajcman, Knut H Sorensen and Sampsa Hyysalo.
We welcome contributions that engage with our theme this year: REFLEXION.
Reflexivity has become something of a touchstone for many in science, technology and innovation studies (STIS). But what do we mean by reflexion? How does it contribute to our understanding and our practice as STIS scholars?
- What can we learn from reflecting on the history of our, still emergent, field of study? How has our understanding changed over these decades? Not just in terms of novel phenomena but also new methodologies and new ways of conceptualising technoscientific change and new ways of working?
- What is reflexion? How do scholars understand it? Who gets to be reflexive, and who doesn’t? Can reflexion help or hinder our work? How do we handle reflexion when it challenges our view of our research? What does this mean for our methods and engagements?
- How do we adapt when reflexion highlights problems in our methods? What if it makes us question established methods, concepts and years of collected data? How do we create new approaches? Do we need new questions, new ways to evaluate, new ways to design our studies?
- How do we study reflexion itself? What challenges does this bring? What should we ask about reflexive moments in research? How does reflexion relate to knowledge-making, power structures, and research communities? How can reflexive practices from 2024/5 guide future work?
Please use the form below to submit your abstract.
The closing date is 28 February 2025. EXTENDED DEADLINE: 7th March 2025.
We will confirm acceptance of papers by 31 March 2025.
Explain how your proposed contribution relates to the REFLEXIONS theme. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words, and should specify which format is the best fit. Accepted proposals will be published as part of the online conference proceedings.
