STS and Universities - I

Abstract

Universities now occupy a strategic place in the so-called knowledge society or information-based political economy, supplying a rapidly growing demand for new kinds of expertise in nearly all areas of modern life, especially in wealthy countries. At the same time, universities are under considerable pressure to adapt to global ideas and practices about neo-liberalism and new public management, along with the quest for ‘excellence’ and ‘innovation’ with respect to teaching, research, and outreach. Consequently, universities increasingly are expected to make themselves accountable and auditable by producing quantitative information on certain activities that enable the formation of metrics, rankings, and other new forms of control, including the management of branding, incomes, and outcomes. What is counted then counts, defining new criteria for evaluating admission, hiring, advancement, worthy subjects of inquiry, and modes of circulating knowledge. STS has considerable potential to study universities as political economic actors, institutions, enterprises, and places of work, study, and the making of knowledge. We invite contributions that address how universities have engaged with these changing political economies of research and higher education. Papers that address how these demands are reshaping the interrelationship between research and teaching, departmental cultures, academic life, and intersectional issues in universities are also welcome.

Chair

• Wiebe E. Bijker, Universiteit Maastricht

Individual Presentations

• Transforming Research into Teaching: Universities as Machineries of Relevance - Knut H Sørensen, NTNU, Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture; Lina Ingeborgrud

• Assembling the Impact Agenda - Jonathan Paylor, King's College London

• Improving Gender Imbalance among University Professors: Local Perspectives and Participatory Learning - Vivian Anette Lagesen, NTNU; Siri Øyslebø Sørensen, Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU); Guro Korsnes Kristensen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

• Philanthropy’s Role in Regenerative and Innovative Knowledge Making at Universities in an Age of Uncertainty: Trends, Analysis and Predictions - Diane Gu, UCLA

• An Assessment of Knowledge Production in Brazilian Universities - Stefan Klein, Universidade de Brasilia (UnB)

Session Organizers

• Knut H Sørensen, NTNU, Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture

• Sharon Traweek, UCLA