STS in/from/and Asia

Abstract

Since Daiwie Fu first asked ‘how far can East Asian STS go?’ in the inaugural issue of East Asian Science, Technology and Society in 2007, many scholars have considered the limits and possibilities of STS in the Asian region. This open panel seeks to build on these conversations, drawing on empirical studies of technoscience within, across and beyond Asia.

A persistent theme in explorations of STS and Asia has been the troubling of critiques based on west/non-west binaries, recognizing instead processes of creolization, hybridity and syncretism in both technoscience and in STS scholarship. As the centre of geopolitical gravity shifts to what is increasingly called the Indo-Asia-Pacific, Asia is the site of novel imaginaries and bold experimentation in every aspect of 21st century life - from energy transition to biosecurity to gene editing to surveillance capitalism – that are shaped by intersecting legacies of European and Asian colonialisms, ongoing Indigenous dispossession and persecution of minority groups, ecological collapse and acute vulnerability to climate change.

Contributing to discussions that have begun through the new TransAsiaSTS Network, we seek papers on all aspects of technoscience that contribute to answering questions such as: What can STS offer the study of technoscience in Asia and what does Asia offer STS? What kind of categories are ‘STS in Asia’ or ‘Asian STS’? How do they relate to Indigenous, queer, feminist, postcolonial, decolonial, and posthuman inflections of STS scholarship? How can scholarly infrastructures better support STS research and research training in the region? How can collaborations in the region contribute to building solidarities and strengthening civil societies? How might these in turn inform practical efforts on the ground? What possibilities can emerge from comparisons of STS in/from/and Asia and other regional formations, located in Northern as well as Southern contexts?

Chair

• Lyle Fearnley, Singapore University of Technology and Design

Discussant

• Itty Abraham, National University of Singapore

Individual Presentations

• GenomeAsia100K: Leveraging Asian DNA to Build National Science in Singapore - Manoj Vimal, Nanyang Technological University

• Hong Kong as Unintended Gatekeeper of China’s Wayward Science - Harry Yi-Jui Wu

• Speaking into the archive: science podcasts in India - Usha Raman, University of Hyderabad

• Denying Darwinism in Korea: STS and Creationism in a Developmental State - Hyung Wook Park, Nanyang Technological University

• Upturning the Energy Ladder: Ritual Purity and Air Pollution in India - Deepti Chatti, Humboldt State University

• Web standards and Protocols: Identifying Transnational Actors and Networks - Chinar Mehta

Session Organizers

• Emma Kowal, Deakin University

• Aalok Khandekar, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad

• Lyle Fearnley, Singapore University of Technology and Design

• Usha Raman, University of Hyderabad

• Hsin-Hsing Chen, Shih-Hsin University Graduate Institute for Social Transformation Studies