6th STS Italia Summer School | Disentangling Futures: Promises, Scenarios, Experiments”| 27th to October 1st, 2022, Padova, Italy
STS Italia, the Italian Society of Science and Technology Studies with the support of European Association for the Study of Science and Technology is organizing its 6th Summer School, “Disentangling Futures: Promises, Scenarios, Experiments”, to be held in Padova (Italy) from September 27th to October 1st, 2022. The Summer School is organized in collaboration with the University of Padova, FISSPA Department and University of Lausanne (CH).
Goals and main topics
In the last decade, Science and Technology Studies (STS) have paid increasing attention to the performative role of “futures”, anticipatory expectations, and “forward-looking statements” in co-defining knowledge-making processes and technological developments. Currently, this broad interest in disentangling the nexus between the future and technoscience flows into several research streams: from the assessment of long-term futures of technological innovation, setting out how future-oriented socio- technical imaginaries act upon real-time technoscientific innovation, up to actionable anticipatory frameworks and normative scenarios adopted to intervene in science, technology and innovation governance and policy-making.
The 6th STS Italia Summer School aims at providing a theoretical, analytical, and methodological toolbox to carry out STS-inspired research into the role of futures in co-producing technoscience and governance, and in reshaping science-technology-society interfaces.
Main themes that will be addressed:
- Science-society interface approaches related to the future, including technoscientific expectations, sociotechnical imaginaries, and technological promises;
- The role of future scenarios in shaping policies and processes of innovation;
- The role of emerging technologies in shaping technoscientific imaginaries and public discourses;
- Investigating technoscientific expectations, imaginaries and promises in newspapers and online media;
- The relationship between imaginaries and fictional representations in shaping technoscience;
- Taking inspiration from art, exhibitions and ‘art/science’ experiments to enhance the study of innovation in the future.
Confirmed speakers
- Marc Audétat (University of Lausanne – CH)
- Silvia Casini (University of Aberdeen – UK)
- Kornelia Konrad (University of Twente – NL)
- Federico Neresini (University of Padova – IT)
- Barbara Prainsack (University of Vienna – AT)
- Philippe Sormani (University of Lausanne – CH)
Schedule, costs, and accommodation
All participants are expected to attend the entire duration of the Summer School and a Certificate of Attendance will be provided at the end. The fee for participation is 250 €. The fee includes:
- Access to all lectures and workshops
- Lunches and coffee breaks
- Social dinner
- Welcome aperitif
- a guided tour to an exhibition space in Venice
- a two-month access to TIPS, an online platform for media analysis
Attendants will be responsible to arrange their own accommodation. A list of selected hotels, B&Bs and budget accommodations will be provided to participants.
Important dates
- April 30th, 2022: Application deadline
- May 15th, 2022: Notification of acceptance and scholarship eligibility.
- June 15th, 2022: Registration deadline
How to apply
The application form is available here. After space for personal details, the form includes a place to upload a short scientific CV (maximum 2 pages) and a statement of interest (maximum 500 words), which should describe the applicant’s current research and its relevance to the aims of the summerschool. Finally, a statement of purpose (maximum 500 words) is mandatory only for scholarship applications. Applications must be submitted electronically to the Summer School Organizing Committee at: stsitaliasummerschool@gmail.com.
For further details, costs, scholarship and how to apply read the full call for application.
The application deadline is April 30th, 2022
Scientific and Organizational Committee
- Marc Audétat (University of Lausanne)
- Simone Arnaldi (University of Trieste)
- Silvia Casini (Aberdeen University)
- Luca Chiapperino (University of Lausanne)
- Stefano Crabu (University of Padova)
- Paolo Giardullo (University of Padova)
- Sergio Minniti (University of Padova)
- Paolo Magaudda (University of Padova)
- Barbara Morsello (University of Padova)
- Federico Neresini (University of Padova)
- Francesco Panese (University of Lausanne)
- Annalisa Pelizza (University of Bologna)
- Philippe Sormani (University of Lausanne)
Please do not hesitate to contact the Organising Committee via email at stsitaliasummerschool@gmail.com for any further questions regarding the school.
