Identities of Latin American STS Scholarship: Towards a Conceptual Framework

• In Event: Is There a New PLACTS Wave? Towards a Stocktaking of Current Latin American (STS) Thought

Abstract

We set this paper in the context of a stocktaking of current Latin American thought trends. To that purpose, we aim at developing a framework allowing a nuanced reading of Latin American social and technology studies. We build on the acknowledgement that both Latin American STS and broader social sciences have engaged to play different roles vis-a-vis societal challenges for a long time. We are interested in unveiling underlying identities deployed in performing such roles.
Arguably, Latin American scholar roles expose a variety of scholar identities. Identities, following Downey (1992), arise from ‘positioning’ strategies in relation to other actors and cultural objects. Latin American scholar positioning acts, therefore, are to be seen and describe its scope in scholar relations to the fields and actors that have taken place in their immediate and mediate contexts.
The discussion brings to the fore two entry points. First, in terms of the broad relation science/politics, pointing to the various stand points and roles Latin American scholars have taken in the broad political and policy arenas. Second, in terms of the methods, shapes and boundary work deployed by scholars in the various engagement strategies at play. The paper closes with a discussion about possible tensions to be found amongst these various identities, and poses some reflections regarding current global trends promoting deeper scholar societal engagement.

References
Downey, Gary. (1992). Human Agency in CAD/CAM Technology. Anthropology today, 8(5), 2-6.

Authors

• Nicolas Aguilar Forero, Universidad de Los Andes

• Alejandro Balanzó, Universidad Externado de Colombia