In his opening lecture at last month’s ‘Values of Critique’ symposium, which almost exactly coincided with Donald Trump’s inauguration, Bruno Latour suggested that the mandate of STS has radically changed. ‘Forty years ago the main enemy was positivism; today no one believes in science any more.’ We’re in the era of ruins, all the iconic institutions of modernity have been deconstructed. In this new setting, what is STS going to be about?
In our next meeting we’ll discuss this rather heavy question with the help of Steve Woolgar and his colleagues’ paper titled ‘Does STS mean business?‘. The meeting will be held on the 9th February, starting at 6pm in the soc. kitchen area (PEG 3G 204). Steve has kindly agreed to respond to our questions and comments, if any.