Workshop: Energy Democracy Across Rhetoric and STS

本次研讨会将制定一个关于能源民主的新的跨学科研究项目。能源民主是指在公众、地方政府实体和非政府组织之间的一种新兴运动，它将能源消费者重新想象为生产消费者，或创新者、设计师和分析师，他们参与能源生产和消费的每个阶段的决策。本次研讨会将制定的研究议程汇集了能源传播、民主理论、跨学科能源研究和公众参与的STS研究方面的奖学金，以发现鼓励美国能源政策中更多参与性民主的方法。这个项目的主要知识价值在于建立了一条新的研究路线，对能源民主的实践者进行实证检验，并发展了促进与能源政策有关的民主决策的实践理论。该研究项目强调了社会科学和人文科学研究对理解能源民主的重要贡献，更广泛地说，是对能源政策的社会政治层面的贡献。它将在通信、STS和跨学科能源学术之间建立新的网络，特别是在能源决策、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。这个项目更广泛的影响是创建一个研究项目来解决能源问题，这是社会面临的最深远的可持续性挑战之一。讲习班将启动一项研究方案，帮助人们更好地了解能源发展与民主进程之间的联系。将社会对能源系统的需求从可及性、可靠性和可负担性扩展到包括一系列环境和经济效益，以及技术创新，从根本上改变了能够直接影响能源系统转变的公民的配置。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，对能源民主的实证和理论发展的研究滞后于公众和能源从业者之间日益增长的运动。本次研讨会将制定一个持续的研究计划，调查能源民主实践中涉及的广泛的行动者、民主价值观、民主功能和治理场所。通过将一系列学者、当地能源从业者和公众聚集在一起，研讨会将就能源民主及其作为一个学术研究领域的潜力展开热烈的讨论。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皮书和专刊；3)优先考虑寻求弥合学术界、当地能源从业者和公众之间分歧的跨学科奖学金。本次研讨会的成果将通过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教学和指导本科生和研究生研究能源相关主题的计划中。讲习班还将扩大妇女和代表性不足群体在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.