BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:https://github.com/derhansen/sf_event_mgt METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT UID:117-96@www.leopoldina.org CLASS: PUBLIC SUMMARY:Science and Democracy in Political Crises, 1900-2024 DESCRIPTION:Inflation, energy supply, global warming, pandemics: science-ba sed assessments and recommendations have long been an important resource fo r political decision-making in dealing with global crises. Yet, the role of science in politics has not been unchallenged as science and scientific pr ocesses have become contentious in many the public sphere of several nation s on both sides of the Atlantic. Both the endorsement and dismissal of scie nce are part of a broader historical pattern. While skepticism towards scie nce existed well before 1900, the twentieth century has witnessed a strengt hening of both “scientism” and “anti-scientism” (Joseph Ben-David), an unre strained belief in science as well as its outright rejection.\n\nThe strong belief in science was particularly pronounced in the first half of the twe ntieth century given the contemporary political ideologies and the technolo gical imperatives of war. World War I witnessed the politicization of scien ce when prominent researchers, as scientists, publicly took sides in the gl obal conflict. The mobilization of science for political and military ends transformed both science and democracy. Before and during World War II, eug enics helped to legitimize sterilization programs around the world, as well as mass murder in Germany. After 1945, key military technologies, such as radar and the atomic bomb, turned some physicists into public celebrities i n the United States. Before Lysenkoism, the Soviet Union appeared to share a commitment to scientific universalism.\n\nFrom the 1960s, though, public perceptions of science and of science-derived technologies changed signific antly. Increasingly, large segments of the public engaged critically with s cience. Anti-nuclear movements in North America and in Europe produced expe rts and research institutes of their own. Environmental activists such as R achel Carson pointed to the “fallout” from the use of pesticides. The Asilo mar International Conference on Recombinant DNA Molecules in February 1975 brought together biologists and journalists to assess the opportunities as well as the dangers associated with the new technology.\n\nBeyond a product ive engagement with science, the period also witnessed its rejection. Durin g the Cold War, the alliance of science and liberal democracy promised to d eliver technological innovation, economic growth, and political justice. Fr om the 1970s, the fruits of this alliance seemed much less certain, and man y blamed science for these developments. Social movements on the left and r ight dismissed the scientific project and its rationality. Some academic in tellectuals also came to dismiss science, emphasizing not only its limitati ons but the futility of trying to identify coherent explanations. Most rece ntly, conspiracy theories and fake news have bolstered the rejection of sci entific research by denying the existence of climate change and of Covid-19 . “Follow the science” may have appealed as a slogan to some, but for many, it either did not resonate or depoliticized and oversimplified the contest ed nature of scientific processes.\n\nSimilar dynamics have also had an imp act on international relations and science policy. In the context of the re cent Covid-19 pandemic, experts and scientific methods increasingly were qu estioned. In many countries, critics have cast doubt on assessments based o n scientific methodologies, which they perceive as being driven by special interests and political ideologies. Against the backdrop of global crises, science has been brought in as a political intermediary. Most recently, sci ence diplomacy has entered international affairs, providing new opportuniti es for diplomatic contact and dialogue. Such developments build on a histor y of researchers and their networks providing avenues of communication for nation-states at times when political channels were closed.\n\n“Science,” i n other words, has come to be invoked to herald solutions or to contest fin dings when societies are in crisis. For this workshop at the German Histori cal Institute Washington, contributions by historians, sociologists, politi cal scientists, and colleagues in related fields that explore the relations hip between societal crises and science in the twentieth and twenty-first c enturies will be invited. Papers may, for example, focus on one of the foll owing aspects:\n\n “Alternatives” to science: What are the conditions and historical contexts for the evolution of movements that endorse ideologies supposedly legitimized by science, or movements that seek to provide altern atives to “established science”? What are the ideological roots of such mov ements, and what are their aims? Under what conditions do such movements ad vance scientific work, and when do they obstruct it? Science and democracy : What is the role of science-based expertise in enabling politically respo nsible decision-making in a democracy? What effects does science-based expe rtise have on scientific institutions and their practices? Why have populis t critics frequently targeted such experts alongside democratic institution s? Why and how did historically marginalized communities contest the legiti macy of Western science and scientific processes? What is the relationship between a lack of trust in science and a rejection of democracy, and how do es the role of experts differ between democratic and non-democratic societi es? Science and crises: Over time, how has science (broadly construed to i nclude academic fields in the humanities and social sciences) evolved as a key interpreter of crises? How has science sometimes advanced crises in soc ieties? What is the role of scientists in the international and supranation al handling of global crises? Given the cost of a university education in t he US, the politicization of science during the recent Covid-19 pandemic, a nd cultural fights with and within academia, is science in crisis today? \n \nWe look forward to proposals for papers that discuss the complex relation ship between science, crisis, and democracy from a social scientific and/or historical perspective. The workshop will provide an opportunity to reflec t on, and to provide context for, the recent public role of science. We are also planning to include a panel with practitioners in science policy, pol icy advice, diplomacy, and communication. The conveners aim to publish cont ributions to this conference as a special issue in a peer-reviewed journal or as an essay collection in book form.\n\nThe conference will be held at t he GHI Washington. The deadline for proposals is January 7, 2024. Please up load a proposal of up to 300 words and a brief CV of 1 or 2 pages in one si ngle PDF document via this link. Successful applicants will be notified in February 2024. Presentations at the workshop will be 25 minutes.\n\nAccommo dation will be arranged and paid for by the conference organizers. Particip ants will make their own travel arrangements; funding subsidies for travel may be available upon request for selected scholars, especially those who m ight not otherwise be able to attend the workshop, including junior scholar s and scholars from universities with limited resources.\n\nPlease contact Nicola Hofstetter (hofstetter-phelps@ghi-dc.org) if you have any difficulti es submitting your information online or if you have other questions relate d to the event.\n\nFurther Information\n\nThe conference is a cooperation b etween the German Historical Institute and the Center for Science Studies a t the Leopoldina.\n\nContact\n\nRonja Steffensky Department Center of Scien ce Studies E-Mail: ronja.steffensky@leopoldina.org LOCATION:Washington, USA DTSTAMP:20251112T170935Z DTSTART:20240904T220000Z DTEND:20240905T220000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR