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[Commlist] CFP | Luhmann Conference 2022 in Dubrovnik | Scientific communication. Observed with social system theory

Fri Mar 04 18:51:33 GMT 2022





*Call for papers to the Luhmann Conference 2022 on “Scientific communication. Observed with social system theory”*

/Venue:/ Inter-University Centre (IUC), Dubrovnik, Croatia

/Address:/ Don Frana Bulicá 4, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia

/Dates:/ 13-16 September 2022

*Theme*

Science is a dynamic social system. New scientific topics and fields emerge from the system’s continuous observations of society, its environment, and science itself. Reflection on scientific communication as both self- and hetero-referential is thus essential to science and to the reproduction of its code, true/false. But science is by no means unchallenged as thesystem devoted to truth. During the COVID-19 crisis, science has seen its monopoly on the definition of truth being disputed, as various claims on the reliability and trustworthiness of, for example, COVID-19 vaccines have been discussed in public debates defined by power struggles over ‘the truth’ and the use labels such as ‘fake news’ as a strategy for epistemic discreditation. At the same time, political actors have as often repurposed scientific knowledge for the legitimation of drastic political decisions as they have changed them. Moreover, political decision-makers have presumed to judge what science is and what is not, thus causing symptoms of a great irritation of the scientific by the political function system. The COVID-19 pandemic thereby illustrates a broader trend to substantial challenges or outright dismissals of scientific truths, thus seemingly turning them into a matter of opinion.

But this is not the only challenge science faces today. Throughout the world, an increasing commodification or financialization of science is affecting not only employment prospects, but also personal and institutional research agendas and publication strategies. At the same time, topics such as climate crises, social inequality, gender, identity, and race have made some scholars pursue goals that rather appear political than scientific. A growing proportion of ostensibly scientific communication is thus undertaken with motives other than purely scientific ones. Should science embrace these tendencies and become activist like some scholars seem to argue with regard to these issues? Or should researchers strive at abstaining from any form of non-scientific communication? What about the role and prospects of the not always peaceful co-existence of science and other function systems in institutions of higher education?

Against the backdrop of these and similar questions, science is forced to reflect upon the criteria applied in defining what can or must be observed as true or false knowledge …

*Read the full CFP here: https://wp.me/pvO07-1G2 <https://wp.me/pvO07-1G2>*


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