Review Essay: The "Political" in Science & Technology Studies. A Response to: Niklas Alexander Chimirri (2012). Review: Michalis Kontopodis & Jörg Niewöhner (Eds.) (2010). Das Selbst als Netzwerk [The Self as Network]

Abstract

At the conclusion of his in-depth discussion of the theoretical, epistemological and methodological aspects of our book "The Self as Network" (KONTOPODIS & NIEWÖHNER, 2010), Niklas Alexander Chimirri (2012) raises a question that we could not have addressed in sufficient detail in our small introduction to relational-material thinking—namely, "Does the relational-materialist perspective (...) strive for emancipatory transformation, or plainly said, for improving the everyday life of people?" To address this question and continue the discourse stimulated by Chimirri, 1. the different connotations of the political in Science & Technology Studies are distinguished and classified, 2. the central tendencies in the debates around expertise, biocapitalism and ontological politics are identified, and 3. the relationship between ethics and politics within Science & Technology Studies is discussed. This overview aims to stimulate further work in this direction by sketching the international debates on these issues.

URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1202242