#2 – Reflections on the 4S Cholula Conference

GES Center Lectures, NC State University

4S 2022 Cholula: Reunion, recuperation, reconfiguration. Knowledge and technosciences for living together

Sebastián Zarate and Jill Furgurson, AgBioFEWS PhD Fellows, NC State University

The 2022 Annual 4S conference brought together researchers and practitioners to explore science, technology and innovation across different cultural, economic and social settings.

Abstract

The 4S Meeting is an annual conference organized by the Society of Social Studies of Sciences (4S). Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an academic field of research that focuses on the relationships between science, society, technology and innovation across different cultural, economic and social settings. 4S 2022 was held in Cholula, Mexico and was the second joint meeting with ESOCITE (The Latin American Science and Technology Studies Association). The conference was trilingual (Spanish, Portuguese and English) as part of the goal to diversify STS to other regions in the world such as Latin America. As AgBioFEWS scholars, we focused our attention on topics related to genetic engineering, governance of emerging technologies, agriculture, conservation and participatory methods. Overall, it was an enriching experience that increased our knowledge of STS methods and theories and expanded our professional networks.

Related links:

• Society for Social Studies of Science 2022 Meeting

Speaker Bios

Sebastián Zarate is a PhD student at NC State’s Forestry and Environmental Resources Department. Sebastián comes from Peru with a background in social sciences. He graduated from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru with a B.A in Sociology and has a master’s in Science and Technology Policy from Arizona State University. He has worked in GRADE (Grupo de Analisis para el Desarrollo) a Peruvian Think Tank that focuses on public policy and co-founded Sidereus Nuncius, a nonprofit that is involved in the governance of science and technology in Peru. He is part of the AgBioFEWS Fellowship at NC State. He is interested in science and technology policy in Latin America, sustainability, emerging technologies, natural resources, and the environment. Jill Furgurson is a first year PhD student in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State. Her current research explores how broader stakeholder engagement can support more inclusive decision making around the evaluation of new environmental biotechnologies, such as the genetically engineered (GE) American Chestnut tree. In particular, how can the exchange of different kinds of knowledge, especially Indigenous knowledge, support more trusted and just decisions? She holds an M.S. in Forestry and Environmental Resources, where she conducted research pertaining to the sustainable use of natural resources used in Cherokee art forms. Her research for her M.A. in Geography assessed the impact of various social, spatial, and environmental risk factors on disease incidence.

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