<div dir="ltr"><div>Open panel at 4S 2019: Is STS an Innovation Discipline? Bridging Critique and Practice<br></div><div><br></div><div>We invite you to join our open panel at the upcoming 4S meeting in New Orleans, "Is STS an Innovation Discipline?" This panel is especially relevant for maintenance studies. Our goal is to critically and productively question the relationship of STS as a field to innovation, maintenance, and social change. The official deadline for accepted panels is Feb1, but we would like to start coordinating as early as possible. Please feel free to and circulate this call, and email us (<a href="mailto:efs8@mit.edu" target="_blank">efs8@mit.edu</a>, <a href="mailto:mwisnios@vt.edu" class="gmail-m_4288866722530512011gmail-m_-7040503789304527709gmail-m_3502470584174204703gmail-m_7685369326981675476gmail-Yh1nIb gmail-m_4288866722530512011gmail-m_-7040503789304527709gmail-m_3502470584174204703gmail-m_7685369326981675476gmail-asUmFb gmail-m_4288866722530512011gmail-m_-7040503789304527709gmail-m_3502470584174204703gmail-m_7685369326981675476gmail-AL18ce" target="_blank">mwisnios@vt.edu</a>)</div><h4>86. Is STS an Innovation Discipline? Bridging Critique and Practice</h4>
<p><em>Matthew Wisnioski, Virginia Tech</em><em><br></em></p><p><em>Ellan Spero, MIT & Station1</em>
</p><p>This panel explores the ambiguous relationship between STS and
innovation. Innovation is increasingly contested: it is heralded as a
driver of technology, economy, and human empowerment, but it is also
maligned as a destructive force that privileges novelty above all. STS
has played a key role in the making and unmaking of innovation. STS
scholars have challenged the concept of innovation, problematized its
association with neoliberal economic and political forces, and posited
alternative values for structuring science and technology. STS also has
been a source of innovation expertise. From actor-network theory to
“midstream modulation,” STS scholars have asked where knowledge,
artifacts, and practices come from and how they travel. Moreover, there
is a related tradition of STS scholars who seek to transform the values
and practices of innovation from within laboratories, corporations,
government agencies, and educational institutions. We invite
contributors from these varied approaches to engage in reflective
critique of STS itself in order to foster productive exchanges and
practical outcomes. We welcome contributions that address (but are not
limited to):</p>
<ul><li>The role of STS as a change-oriented field</li><li>How STS concepts circulate across disciplines and fields of practice</li><li>Case studies that highlight the complexities of hybrid professional identities</li><li>Examples of tools and methods for STS “in action”</li></ul><a href="https://www.4s2019.org/accepted-open-panels/" target="_blank">https://www.4s2019.org/accepted-open-panels/</a><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div>Ellan F. Spero, Ph.D.</div><div><br>Lecturer<br>Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br><a href="mailto:efs8@mit.edu" target="_blank">efs8@mit.edu</a><br><br>Co-Founder and Chief Curriculum Officer<br>Station1<br><a href="mailto:ellan@station1.org" target="_blank">ellan@station1.org</a><br><a href="http://www.Station1.org" target="_blank">www.Station1.org</a><br><br><a href="https://twitter.com/ellanfei" target="_blank">Twitter (@ellanfei)</a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellan-spero-b1126a18/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> Skype: efspero<br>(she, her, hers)<br><span style="color:#0645ad"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155006/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0645ad"></span></a></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt"><br><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt"></span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span></span><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>