Power and Knowledge: The Construction, Dissemination, and Perceptions of Knowledge in Energy Production in Asia-Pacific



Hello everyone,
Please see the below CFP for the APSTSN Conference (http://www.apstsn2013.com/)

*Panel title:*
Power and Knowledge: The Construction, Dissemination, and Perceptions of Knowledge in Energy Production in Asia-Pacific

*Panel description:*
Energy production has been a paramount issue in many nations. The desire and ability to produce electrical power has been tied to a nation’s effort to industrialize and modernize. Countries aim not just to produce sufficient energy to meet rising or projected demands for their economic development, but also attempt to electrify the whole territory. A well-lit nation has become a symbol of modernity and the electrical consumption per capita is often referred to as an indicator for a country’s economic performance. Powering these agendas in Asia-Pacific, however, entails much more than just the straightforward design and building of an energy infrastructure network. It is bound up with the creation and propagation of technoscientific knowledge, as well as with certain sociotechnical and technopolitical processes.

The diversification of energy sources over time from coal to hydroelectric power and nuclear has necessitated the acquisition and dissemination of scientific and technological knowledge specific to each energy type.
Underscoring the safe and efficient production of power from each energy source, and even the public acceptance of its use, is the understanding of how society, politics, science and technology are intertwined with each other in energy production.

How did countries in the Asia-Pacific region acquire the knowledge in constructing their energy networks? How was the knowledge disseminated and appropriated in building their domestic capacities, and how might this have influenced the political and social attitudes towards the adoption of certain types of energy sources? Using analytical frameworks and approaches of Science and Technology Studies (STS), this panel thus seeks to address
(i) the creation, dissemination, and perceptions of technoscientific knowledge and (ii) the sociotechnical and technopolitical processes of energy production in Asia.

We are interested in forming a panel for the upcoming APSTSN conference (
http://www.apstsn2013.com/) that speak to one of the conference’s themes of “knowing,” particularly in papers that explore and examine the co-production of electrical infrastructure and knowledge both in the scientific and non-scientific realms in any Asia Pacific countries. Grad students, ABDs, and recent PhDs are invited to present their work at this panel.

The submission deadline for the panel is January 7, 2013.  Please email us ( ysm5@cornell.edu and harye.kan@gmail.com) immediately if you are interested and follow up with a ca. 300- word abstract of your paper.

Best,
--
Anto Mohsin
Ph.D. Candidate
Dept. of Science & Technology Studies
Cornell University