If Not Now Then When: STS and Critical Race Theory

Session Submission Type: Traditional (Closed) Panel

Abstract

In an era of colorblind racism, using the category of race is widely decried as racist; for example, including race as a factor in college admissions is seen by some not only as no longer necessary but as a form of “reverse racism.” Shamefully, in Science, Technology, and Society, with a few notable exceptions, race and new racial formations are at best under-theorized and at worst, simply ignored. There is no excuse for race to continue to be sidelined in STS scholarship and institution-building. Artifacts, boundary objects, trading zones and laboratories still fascinate us, at a time when science is increasingly being conducted outside laboratories by street scientists, many of them people of color. We include primates, scallops, dinosaurs, and sheep in our analysis, and yet we rarely include race in our multi sited and multi species discipline. Papers in this panel will examine contemporary features and surfaces of the DuBoisian colorline from an STS and critical race perspective. Subjects of interest will include, but are not limited to, Black Lives Matter, Flint, Ferguson, white privilege and other matters of racial inequality and justice.

Sub Unit

• 4S Annual Meeting

Chair

• Michael Mascarenhas, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Individual Presentations

• Constructing Insignificance? Applying Critical Race Theory to Scientific, Regulatory, and Legal Failure in Environmental Justice Communities - Lauren Richter, Northeastern University

• Fade to White: The Disappearance of Black Hunger in American Socio-Biological Science - Kelly Moore, Loyola University Chicago

• Operating and Operationalizing Race: Racial Projects in Cosmetic Surgery - Alka Menon, Northwestern University

• Trading Zones and Cultural Differences: An Anti-Racist Approach to Computer Science Education Research - Michael Lachney, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute