CfP: Estimated Truths: Water, Science, and the Politics of Approximation
A workshop to be held at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin on 16-17 August 2017
Convenors: Wilko
Hardenberg (MPIWG, Berlin), Etienne Benson (University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia), Giacomo Parrinello (Sciences Po, Paris)
Deadline: 15 December 2016
The
scientific legibility of the world is often produced through
approximation in a variety of guises. Planning efforts in particular,
which are often subject to pressing time and budget constraints, tend to
eschew absolute truths in favor of estimated values that promise a
sufficient level of precision. Water flows and levels, for instance,
have often been assessed by scientists and engineers through processes
of estimation, simulation, and modelling. More often than not, the
construction of authoritative knowledge in the field has been based on
values that were deemed to be good enough for the task at hand.
The
central question this workshop seeks to answer is: how have scientists
produced informed judgements about rates of flow, changes in level,
processes of condensation and precipitation, thickness and deformation
of ice, and other dynamic properties of water in its different states
through processes of approximation, simulation, and modelling? In
exploring this issue we want to pay particular attention to the
relationships between politics and science and the role of power
structures in determining choices and decision-making processes. At the
same time, we want to remain attentive to the ways in which the material
properties of water and the larger biogeophysical systems into which it
is embedded shape the kinds of knowledge that are produced. We want
thus to address the dynamic, processual nature of planning and research,
characterized by constant flows in which both data and judgements are
produced, validated, and reassessed through mediation and conflict.
We
focus on water as both an exemplary case in which the variety of
variables produces an inherent degree of uncertainty and as an issue
that allows broad comparisons between different eras because of the
centrality of water, water management, and knowledge about water
throughout human history. By attending to constraints, failures, and
approximations, we aim to understand how the autonomous dynamism and
complexity of biogeophysical processes serve as structural sources of
uncertainty, as well as how approximations become sites of political
contestation and impact power structures at multiple levels. We are
particularly interested in exploring spatially and temporally diverse
case studies whose foci may range from the use of science in water
management, to the role of models in hydrology and related disciplines,
to the standardization of water measurement systems. Our interests
include but are not limited to the conditions of knowledge production in
the field and in the laboratory, the advantages and disadvantages of
simulations and models, and the significance of approximation for
decision-making and policy.
With this workshop we aim to lay the
foundation for a well-integrated publication around the idea of
estimated truths about water as a co-product of science, politics, and
the environment. We thus invite potential contributors to explicitly
address how their research reflects the issues described above. Draft
papers and a preliminary introduction will be pre-circulated to maximize
the time available during the workshop to discuss these issues in
detail. Travel and accommodation costs for participants will be covered
by the MPIWG.
Your proposal should consist of an abstract (ca. 300
words) and a brief biographical note (ca. 150 words). Please submit
proposals to whardenberg@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de by 15 December 2016 with the subject “Estimated Truths.”