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

*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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