Room 2 - [Roundtable] STS in_of Indonesia, and Beyond

Wednesday, June 19, 2024, 8:00 - 9:30 AM (EDT) // 7:00 - 8:30 PM (WIB)

Abstract: Currently, more and more scholars around the globe are doing research on the relationship between science, technology and society (or “STS”) as the field is becoming more popular. In the field of Indonesian studies, there are a small number of scholars who are working on the subject. However, historical and social studies as well as philosophy of science and technology remain a marginal subject in most universities and research institutions in Indonesia. In late-January 2019, Perkumpulan Peneliti Eutenika, Universitas Brawijaya, and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences co-organized, perhaps, the first STS workshop in Indonesia with the fund from the Society for History of Technology (SHOT). The event tried to explore understudied topics on historical and social studies of science and technology and postcolonial scholarship in Southeast Asia. Since then, Eutenika has been organizing some events to introduce STS for Indonesians. In early 2024, Eutenika decided to dedicate itself as a non-profit organization to popularize STS to Indonesia. The roundtable will gather social and humanities scholars doing research on STS in/of Indonesia and beyond to discuss current trends and future directions. Here are some questions to be addressed in the roundtable session, but not limited to: how do science and technology play a role in everyday lives in Indonesia? To what extent do science and technology maintain/end colonial legacies in Indonesia? How can science and technology support multiple ontologies in Indonesia? How can we define an “Indonesian STS”, as it is being shaped by scholars from various backgrounds? And, since Indonesian universities and research institutes are still in transition, with so many modifications and experiments, how would Indonesian scholars accept the fact that STS is essential to such transition? The goal of the roundtable discussion is to bring together scholars from different disciplines to examine different facets of science and technology studies in Indonesia and beyond from a historical and social perspective.

Keywords: science and technology studies; sociology of science and technology; history of science and technology; technology and postcoloniality; politics of science and technology