Asia as Method in Science and Technology Studies

Abstract

One of the more exciting developments in science and technology studies (STS) is the emergence of institutions, research schools, and career paths in the field in Asia. Already it is clear that this constitutes no simple diffusion of STS from Western Europe and North America (or even Australasia). Asian developments are adding to the heterogeneity of STS, offering new approaches, different emphases, and fresh topics. How, then, is East Asian STS related to local technoscientific nationalism, to area studies, to postcolonial critique, and to the interrogation of globalization? In what ways is it distinctive? In particular, how might STS scholars negotiate a path between essentializing the East Asian historical experience and offering a fresh critique of technoscience and modernity?

Acknowledgments

I thank Chen Ruey-Lin and colleagues for encouraging me to join this conversation. I am especially grateful for the advice and comments of Prasenjit Duara, Michael Fischer, Fu Daiwie, Sandra Harding, Helen Xinhong Hao, and Angela Ki-che Leung.