Transnational and local: Reflections on doing collaborative STS in Turkey

• In Event: Global STS in Deglobalization of the World

Abstract

This paper investigates the ways to stimulate Global/Transnational STS research and education in Turkey, in a context where the discourse of “national and local” (yerli ve milli) gets increasingly embedded in its technoscientific culture under the current neoliberal conservative government. On the basis of a year-long collective work in an STS platform (IstanbuLab), we discuss the theoretical and practical strategies that we have developed to generate STS in Turkey based on the inter-related realities of its diverse localities without falling into the trap of promoting “national and local” STS. This challenge led us to finding unique examples to analyze with the existing STS literature (like the Kanal Istanbul Mega Project), while simultaneously questioning the theoretical and conceptual tools of Global STS that was developed in and for different contexts (such as the post-truth conversations). On the basis of these inquiries, this paper addresses the challenges in “Translating STS” into the Turkish context. We underline that these challenges derive not only from the still-West-oriented inclinations in STS, but also, are based on the realities of particular social relations in Turkey; these include, doing science in polarized and politically charged environment, and lack of collaborative culture. We conclude with a number of suggestions towards overcoming the challenges at hand, such as the necessity to revisit the question of modernity in STS, and to establish informal and collaborative research spaces outside the boundaries of universities.

Authors

• Maral Erol, Isik University

• Duygu Kasdogan, İzmir Katip Çelebi Üniversitesi