Umeå universitets logga

Discomfort, disturbance, disharmony and disgust tend to provoke traditional science and research, bringing about questions of truth in relation to what is to be seen as emotional contamination of results and knowledge production. But what if uncomfortableness is the deal breaker for training our sensibilities and judgement as an important compass of care and ethics? What if the disharmony is an important act of violence when performed on norms and discourses of hegemonic power? Aligned with the theme of this annual meeting we invite contributions that reflect on the extent and limits of our sensibilities as STS scholars, teachers, and activists. We especially seek contributions that speculate on and figure concepts like "dirt", "the uncomfortable" and "matters out of place" in order to attain new critical sensibilities through composition, intra-action and critical reflective practices. With the theme Science out of Comfort, we would like this panel to offer a track of contributions that explore phenomena and concerns that antagonize and ruffle in order to break free — in order to feel and sense how the world is made differently sense-able through multiple discourses and practices of knowledge-making, as well as that which evades the sensoria of technoscience and STS. We welcome contributions that explore how alternative forms of knowledge production can support new critical sensibilities in which disturbances and uncomfortable affects and emotions are used in order to slow down and make room for critical reflection and attention.