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Reflecting on Reflexivity in Practice: Responsible Innovation, Engagement, and Governance - I

Thu, September 5, 1:00 to 2:30pm, Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, Floor: Eight, Proteus

Abstract

As a central idea within the responsible research and innovation and engagement literatures, reflexivity is widely cited and pursued, yet it holds many potential meanings and takes many forms. Often defined as holding a mirror up to one’s commitments, assumptions, and worldview, reflexivity emphasizes the significance of these factors and the need to call them into question at a variety of decision making scales (Stilgoe et al. 2013). The host of potential meanings of reflexivity and the variety of methods available to achieve it call attention to the importance of context and how reflexivity is pursued in practice (Kinsella 2012; Wynne 2011; Schuurbiers 2011). As Lynch (2000) argues, “what reflexivity does, what it threatens to expose, what it reveals and who it empowers depends upon who does it and how they go about it” (p.36). This session seeks to explore the contextual nature of reflexivity and how it is being pursued within science, technology, and environmental governance. For example, what types of reflexivity are pursued in different contexts and at different scales? What specific methods are utilized to foster reflexivity? What factors influence what is called into question and what goes unquestioned? What tensions and paradoxes are encountered when pursuing reflexivity and how can they be navigated? While we welcome presentations on a wide range of topics, we are particularly interested in how reflexivity is pursued in the context of stakeholder and public engagement. For example, how is reflexivity envisioned and pursued within engagement and how is engagement, itself, used as a means to achieve reflexivity?

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