Technoscientific Constitutionalism: Exploring New Horizons in STS Research at the intersection of Science, Technology, Law, and Governance

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Are we facing a constitutional crisis? As stem cell research redefines the meaning of life, big data systems subvert expectations of privacy, and nudge economics takes on the role of governments and regulation, science and technology (S&T) play an increasingly profound role in ordering our world. In doing so, they are not only ‘constitutive’ of life in contemporary societies, but indeed ‘constitutional’ – challenging both the existing social orders enshrined in our legal and political institutions and what comes to be regarded as desirable orders in the first place. This poses a number of critical questions at the intersection of science & technology studies (STS), law, and public policy: how to think about the constitutional foundations of society in view of recent trends in S&T? What are the implications of these arrangements for understanding rights, responsibilities, subjectivity, government, and regulation? Are conventional approaches to law and democratic governance sufficient to address the challenges of constitutions in a technoscientific world?This German-American research conference will explore how science and technology (re-constitute) society through the lens of "technoscientific constitutionalism.“ We build on recent work across a number of domains, including bio-constitutionalism, infrastructure politics, and critical legal studies. As S&T frequently cut to the heart of social, political and legal categories, we propose to study these transformations and their consequences in three paradigmatic domains: biosciences, information technology and economics. Using thus a two-fold comparative approach (across domains and with participants from two countries), the conference will focus allow us to identify salient differences and cultural idiosyncrasies in technoscientific constitutions. We also want to find out how we must change our theories and methods in order to analyze the technoscientific constitutions of contemporary society.This research conference is proposed in tandem to DFG and the US National Science Foundation (NSF). On the US side, the proposal has already undergone peer review. This funding is contingent, however, on German co-funding. The conference will take place at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C. in spring 2018, and will feature about 50 scholars and practitioners from STS, law, anthropology, sociology, history, politics, and public policy. Inviting both junior and senior scholars, the conference will foster collaboration and pave the way for future research across geographical and disciplinary boundaries. We will employ state-of-the-art practice to make its outcomes widely accessible (e.g. conference homepage, streaming, twitter etc.) and aim to produce a special issue or edited volume that highlights outstanding contributions from the conference, as well as policy-relevant outputs such as a policy white paper or brief.