RUMOS27 - Call for communications

VII RUMOS CONFERENCE ON THE SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - The role of science and technology studies in imagining and (re)configuring democratic futures. January 14-15, 2027, University of Minho

In recent years, the intensification of authoritarian, nationalist, and anti-democratic forces across different geographies is concomitant to profound and rapid transformations in science and technology. The growing influence and relevance of digital infrastructures, algorithmic governance, surveillance capitalism, and the omnipresence of biotechnologies and artificial intelligence across several social domains has reshaped not only everyday life but also the conditions under which democracy is enacted, lived, challenged and contested. These changes, therefore, compel social scientists and, more particularly, scholars and critical thinkers interested in science and technology studies (STS), to critically examine the relations and ambivalences between technoscientific and socio-technological developments and the rise of authoritarian, populist, and exclusionary political projects. This conference, therefore, aims to 1) rethink the contributions of STS and its potential of critique to question trends associated with domination, violence and authoritarianism; 2) discuss forms of resistance and opposition to these dynamics, 3) articulate visions for emancipatory projects for reclaiming justice and democracy, and 4) foster STS research on knowledge, science and technology across all thematic domains. The conference invites contributions which engage with these aims in the context of climate and biodiversity, housing, labor, health, education, migration, social security and welfare states, art, policy and public debate, security and war.

We invite academics and professionals interested in these topics from diverse backgrounds, including STS, sociology, anthropology, political science, human geography, history, philosophy, communication and media studies, political economy and technology assessment. Submissions of theoretical and empirical papers are welcome. By fostering dialogue, this conference aims to contribute not only to academic debates but also to wider social and political discussions on the role of STS in imagining and (re)shaping democratic futures.

Among all other themes focusing on knowledge, science and technology, the topics under discussion are:

• How are democratic values and civic rights at risk through digital infrastructures, algorithmic governance, surveillance capitalism, and the omnipresence of biotechnologies and artificial intelligence across several social domains (including labour, health, environment, migration, crime control, policy and public debate, environment, anthropocene, arts, amongst others)

• How does “democracy” itself become contested and even an empty signifier through these developments?

• How can democracy be improved and fuelled by current sociotechnological transformations?

• How are science and technology contested, on the one hand, and mobilized, on the other hand, by authoritarian, anti-democratic forces? What contestations, controversies and contentious politics emerge around these developments?

• Under which conditions are science and technology mobilized for the advancement of democratic values and civic rights?

• How do experts, practitioners, citizens and marginalized people resist, reconfigure, or reclaim science and technologies for purposes of democracy and justice?

• Which theoretical, methodological and conceptual tools do STS – also in conversation with other critical scholarship such as feminist, postcolonial, social movement as well as political economy studies – offer for analyzing and understanding these contemporary dynamics?

• How could STS scholars navigate the tension between critical reflexivity and the potential for eroding public trust in science?

CONFERENCE FORMAT

In order to substantiate and enrich the quality of reflection and discussion of papers, we ask contributors to share draft full papers in advance and ask participants to engage with each others’ writings. Papers’ drafts will be shared among participants and each paper will have one discussant who will be responsible for providing constructive feedback, raising critical questions, and facilitating discussion during the session. This format is designed to support work-in-progress papers in progressing towards publication while consolidating the STS community.

TIMELINE

• 31th July 2026 | Deadline for abstract submissions

• 1st September 2026 | Notifications of acceptance

• 30th November 2026 | Registration deadline

• 30th November 2026 | Deadline for submission of full draft papers

• 14-15th January 2027 | Conference (Braga)

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