Summer school "Science as a form of life"

Laboratory for Social and Anthropological Research (TSU LSAR), Centre of Excellence ‘Bio-Clim-Land’, Scientific Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics and Center for Political Analysis of Science and Technologies (PAST Center) are pleased to announce a summer school, themed: “Science as a form of life: Watching heterogeneous communities in the ‘field’”, to be held on July 10^th – 20^th, 2016, in the city of Tomsk, Stationary Biological Laboratory Kaybasovo, Krivosheinsky District Tomsk Oblast.

The school aims to train B.A. and M.A. students of social sciences in applying new theoretical approaches in the anthropology of science, with the process of researching being conceptualized as a heterogeneous community inhabited by different types of agencies (actors) – human, non-human (domestic and wild natural beings), artifacts, and other technical facilities, which are included in various forms of association and cohabitation.

It will explore the world of scientists that work at biogeochemical laboratories and will study their methods of remote environmental monitoring through in-city participant observations.

The school comprises the following components: 1) theory training at the Laboratory for Social and Anthropological Research at TSU, Tomsk), and 2) fieldwork to collect data at the Biochemical and Environment Remote Monitoring Techniques Research Lab Kaybasovo (Krivosheinsky District Tomsk Oblast);

Planned activities include:

Lectures and seminars on major theoretical approaches to studying heterogeneous communities in science and technologies (laboratory studies, actor-network theory, sociology of attachment);
Methodological seminar, titled "Field research methods to studying laboratories and research teams as heterogeneous communities";
Field research at Kaybasovo (Krivosheinsky District Tomsk Oblast);
Workshop on methods of analysis and synthesis of collected field data;
Student Science Session with presentations of students’ research papers.

Applications should be submitted electronically by May 10, 2016 the latest, to: irina.popravko83@gmail.com, tchalakov@gmail.com