The Italian Society of Science and Technology Studies

The 4th National Conference of STS Italia (Italian Society of Science and Technology Studies) will be held in Rovigo from 21 to 23 June 2012, and will be organised in partnership with CIGA of the University of Padua (Centre for Environmental Law Decisions and Corporate Ethical Certification). The conference will provide an opportunity to present empirical and theoretical works focusing on different aspects related to the study of science, technology and innovation processes, drawing on a variety of disciplines and fields of study (sociology, anthropology, law, philosophy, design, psychology, semiotics, history, economics).The 4th Conference will focus on the idea of studying emerging technologies. Although the definition of emerging technologies specifically refers to the creation and dissemination of new technologies (such as nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, neuro- cognitive sciences and robotics), more generally, emerging technologies can also be regarded as social worlds: complex objects, inseparable and inextricable from the practices and knowledges where they originate and transform themselves. As such, they are therefore a cross-disciplinary topic, which can be examined from a variety of points of view, approaches and methodologies.