Workshop: Energy Democracy Across Rhetoric and STS

本次研讨会将开发一个新的跨学科的能源民主研究计划。能源民主是指在公众、地方政府实体和非政府组织中出现的一种新兴运动，它将能源消费者重新想象为产消者，或参与能源生产和消费每个阶段决策的创新者、设计师和分析师。将在本次研讨会上开发的研究议程汇集了能源通信，民主理论，跨学科能源研究和公众参与的STS研究的奖学金，以发现如何鼓励更多的参与性民主在美国的能源政策。该项目的主要智力价值是建立一个新的研究路线，以经验主义的方式考察能源民主实践者，并发展实用理论，推进与能源政策有关的民主决策。该研究计划强调了社会科学和人文研究对理解能源民主以及更广泛的能源政策的社会政治层面的重要贡献。它将在通信、STS和跨学科能源奖学金之间建立新的网络，特别是与能源决策、技术与民主之间的关系以及在更广泛的环境趋势背景下能源的社会政治方面有关的网络。该项目的更广泛影响是创建一个解决能源问题的研究计划，这是社会面临的最深刻的可持续发展挑战之一。研讨会将启动一项研究计划，帮助人们更好地了解能源发展与民主进程之间的联系。社会对能源系统的需求不断扩大，不仅限于可获得性、可靠性和可负担性，还包括一系列环境和经济效益，沿着技术创新，这从根本上改变了能够直接影响能源系统变化的公民的结构。在这些有时混乱的变化中，民主理想，包括公众参与能源决策的重要性，促成了一场新兴的能源民主运动。然而，对能源民主的经验和理论发展的研究落后于公众和能源从业者之间日益增长的运动。该研讨会将制定一个持续的研究计划，调查广泛的参与者，民主价值观，民主职能和参与能源民主实践的治理场所。通过汇集一系列学者，当地能源从业者和公众，研讨会将启动关于能源民主及其作为学术研究领域的潜力的生动对话。具体而言，本次研讨会将：1）促进STS，通信和跨学科能源学者之间更好的合作; 2）在开源期刊上发表白色论文和特刊; 3）优先考虑跨学科奖学金，旨在弥合学术界，当地能源从业者和公众之间的分歧。本次研讨会的成果将通过一个研讨会网站向学术界和公众广泛传播，并将纳入正在进行的本科生和研究生能源相关主题研究的教学和导师计划。讲习班还将扩大妇女和代表性不足的群体对这一研究领域的参与。

This workshop will develop a new interdisciplinary research program on energy democracy. Energy democracy refers to an emerging movement among members of the public, local government entities, and non-governmental organizations that re-imagines energy consumers as prosumers, or innovators, designers and analysts who are involved in decisions at every stage of energy production and consumption. The research agenda that will be developed in this workshop brings together scholarship in energy communication, democratic theory, interdisciplinary energy studies, and publicly-engaged STS research to discover ways to encourage more participatory democracy in relation to energy policy in the United States. The primary intellectual merit of this project is to forge a new line of research that empirically examines energy democracy practitioners and develops practical theory that advances democratic decision-making in relation to energy policy. This research program highlights the crucial contribution that social scientific and humanities research has on understanding energy democracy, and more broadly the sociopolitical dimensions of energy policy. It will create new networks between communication, STS, and interdisciplinary energy scholarship, particularly as related to energy decision-making, the relationship between technology and democracy, and the sociopolitical aspects of energy in the context of broader environmental trends. The broader impact of this project is to create a research program that addresses energy, which is one of the most profound sustainability challenges facing society. The workshop will initiate a research program that can help people to better understand the linkages between energy development and democratic process. Expanding social demands on energy systems beyond access, reliability, and affordability to include a suite of environmental and economic benefits, along with technological innovation, has fundamentally altered the configuration of citizens who can directly influence shifts in energy systems. Amidst these sometimes chaotic changes, democratic ideals, including the importance of public engagement in energy decisions, have contributed to an emerging movement for energy democracy. Yet, research on the empirical and theoretical development of energy democracy lags behind this growing movement among publics and energy practitioners. This workshop will develop a sustained research program that investigates the broad range of actors, democratic values, democratic functions, and governance sites that are involved in the practice of energy democracy. By bringing together a range of scholars, local energy practitioners, and publics, the workshop will initiate a lively conversation about energy democracy and its potential as an academic area of study. Specifically, this workshop will: 1) foster better collaboration between STS, communication, and interdisciplinary energy scholars; 2) result in a white paper and special issue in an open-source journal; and 3) prioritize transdisciplinary scholarship that seeks to bridge divides between academia, local energy practitioners, and publics. The products of this workshop will be broadly disseminated to both academic and public audiences through a symposium website, and will be incorporated into ongoing programs of teaching and mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students in research on energy related topics. The workshop will also broaden participation of women and underrepresented groups in this research area.