PhD course on STS literature

Course Title:
PhD reading group on STS literature

Organisers:
Andreas Laumand Christensen, Marie Ertner, Louise Torntoft, and Lea Schick.

Website:
Can be found here.

Lecturer:
Brit Ross Winthereik

Co-lecturers:
Casper Bruun Jensen,
Christopher Gad
Laura Watts
Torben Ellegaard (DTU)
Anders Kristian Munk (DTU)

Dates of the course:
May 10th 2012
May 24th 2012
June 22th 2012
(+5 more times during fall 2012)

Time:
15-17 pm on the above dates.

Course description:
We are a group of PhD students working within STS setting up a reading group at the IT University. We come together around the study of socio-technical networks with a focus on various publics. The aim of the reading group is to engage with current STS related topics and discussions. Our projects revolve around 'Electricity Infrastructures', 'E-voting', and 'Welfare Technology for Seniors'. Participants from all disciplinary backgrounds with an interest in STS are welcome to join the reading group.

All participants will prepare for each meeting by reading the corresponding papers and reflecting on them. Furthermore, the participants will take turn presenting 2-3 papers in the course and host a discussion on its contents.

The meetings take place Thursday between 3-5 pm. we meet monthly during 8 months (maybe extended afterwards) at the IT University of Copenhagen. The reading group is open for all interested PhD students.

The first 3 times have been planned by organizers. After the third meeting we will collectively with all participants plan the next 5 themes and texts.

Program for the first 3 meetings:
May 10. 2012: Ordering and Agency:
Texts:
- Callon & Law: ‘Agency and the hybrid Collectif’
- Mol & Law: ‘Situated Bodies and Distributed selves’

May 24. 2012: Representation and Intervention:
- Jespersen, A. P. et. al (forthcoming): ‘Guest Editorial: Cultural Analysis as intervention’ in: Science Studies, special issue on “Cultural Analysis as Intervention”
- Jensen, T. E. (forthcoming): ‘Intervention by Invitation. New Concerns and New Versions of the user in STS’, , in: Science Studies, special issue on “Cultural Analysis as Intervention”
- Munk, A.K. & S. Abrahamsson (forthcoming): ‘Empiricist interventions: strategy and tactics on the ontopolitical battlefield’, in: Science Studies, special issue on “Cultural Analysis as Intervention”
- Verran, Helen & Winthereik, Brit R. (forthcoming): Ethnographic Stories as Generalizations that intervene

June 22: Studying partially existing objects:
- Latour, Bruno: ‘Aramis and the love of technology’.
- Jensen, Casper B.: ‘Researching partially existing objects’
- Michael, Mike: ‘Contested futures’ Kap 2 ‘Futures of the Present – from Performativity to Prehension’

Exam:
None. The students are evaluated on participation.

Credits:
Since the reading group is not a PhD course where one has to participate every single time in order to get ECTS we have made a system where the students get points according to their participation. Each meeting has the duration of 2 hours and we are reading 2-3 texts per meeting. The texts are around 20-30 pages per text.

Participation in 5 meetings give 2 ECTS Participation in 8 meetings give 4 ECTS.