Science and Democracy Network
20th Annual Meeting
June 23-25, 2021
The 2021 meeting will be fully virtual
Abstract Deadline Extended: May 7, 2021
Call for Abstracts
The SDN Annual Meeting invites abstracts (up to 300 words) on a theme appropriate for the Network. The closing date for abstract submissions is May 7, 2021. Please submit your abstract via the online form. Direct any questions to Paul Sherman at paul_sherman@hks.harvard.edu.
Accepted presenters will be notified around May 15. If your abstract is accepted, you will be expected to provide a final paper for circulation to other workshop participants no later than June 11. Please keep this date in mind as you respond to the call for abstracts. Note that a virtual meeting will require adjustments in our usual presentation formats. More details will be announced in coming weeks.
The conference will be organized around the following major themes, with priority given to work that effectively integrates issues of political and epistemic authority:
- Institutions: Role of governmental and non-governmental institutions in producing, using, disseminating or contesting authoritative knowledge; institutions with claims to epistemic authority include NGOs, corporations, international governmental organizations, scientific institutions, the state and its agencies.
- Citizenship and Participation: Forms and modes of citizen mobilization and expression around scientific or technological issues, including (new) social movements, new forms of participation, consumer activism, patient groups, indigenous peoples, and “liminal citizens” (endangered species, animals, embryos, and stem cells, for example).
- Communication and Representation: Intersection between political and expert or professional discourses; role of mass media in presenting science, with particular interest in visual representation; political implications of information and communication technologies, databases, identification technologies, etc.
Given the challenges of a virtual meeting, we expect to accept between 24-30 abstracts. Special preference will be given to abstracts from people who did not present last year, but no abstracts will be excluded from consideration.
Panel and Round Table Submissions
As in prior years, we will accept proposals for panels of 3-4 papers on topics of broad and immediate relevance for science and democracy. Such proposals must meet high standards of theoretical significance and/or political or policy salience. Please note that, to ensure widest participation, only one panel proposal can be accommodated in the final program.
Proposals for roundtables on current issues of concern to SDN members are most welcome, for example, reflections on political and policy developments or pedagogical opportunities in response to the COVID-19 crisis or other pressing issues. The program may be able to accommodate one such panel (60-90 minutes) provided it is sufficiently significant and inclusive. Panelists need not present formal papers but should represent a breadth of research experiences and institutional affiliations.
Special Opportunities for Graduate Students
Although it will be virtual, this year’s SDN annual meeting will still feature opportunities for graduate students to interact with more senior scholars. Graduate students will be able to receive feedback from senior SDN members in addition to joining the SDN conference as participants. To submit an abstract for a graduate student paper, please follow the link to the online form, upload your abstract, and check the box for a graduate student submission.