Call for Papers Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science November 2-4, 2006, Vancouver, B.C, Canada

The 2006 4S conference will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the society. The meeting will be co-located with the History of Science Society and Philosophy of Science Association, which will be in a hotel a few blocks away.

This year's theme is "Silence, Suffering and Survival", and it is designed to explore the overlooked spaces, boundaries, actors, networks, and artifacts of science and technology. We welcome papers and panels that address questions about the silences of silencing, unintended consequences, and persistence in science, technology and STS. The topic is meant to open up and stir discussion about theorizing in areas we may have overlooked such as the process of secrecy under which processes of silence are often conducted. Possible topics might include the science and technology of slavery, disability, survival, warfare, peace, and quantification. Discussions might address de-moralization and re-moralization within science, technology and STS, the sort of silence/noise created by technology/science, and how technology/science create and alleviate suffering and/or survival. This could include processes of survival that are often off the record, such as workarounds, "older ways of knowing", older (non-scientific) ways of knowing, and ...? Submission deadline is April 3. Find more information and submit abstracts and session proposals at http://www.4sonline.org/meeting.htm. For further information, please contact the Program Chair: Wenda Bauchspies