Paper 70: Another Science for Another World? Science and Genomics at the London Social Forum
ESRC Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (CESAGen)
Cardiff University The 3 rd meeting of the European Social Forum was held in London during October 2004 with a broad ranging formal agenda and a penumbra of affiliated workshops and cultural activities. This paper focuses upon a range of sessions dealing with science in general and the sciences of human genetics in particular. Through participant observation this paper details the representations of science by ESF actors, their use of the ESF as a ‘convergence space' for global activist network interaction and the various ways in which participants sought to create a more socially responsible and accountable science.
Drawing on observations of, and participation in, these sessions we describe how scientific knowledge and practices were portrayed in the context of neo-liberal market relations by both ‘producers' and ‘consumers' of techno-science. The concluding section considers the implications of (re)negotiating scientific and social orders within such open network spaces. It is argued that ‘broad and shallow' and ‘narrow and deep' approaches towards public understanding of science need to be supplemented by the ‘broad and diverse' processes typifying the forum milieu.
Key Words: Science, Genomics, Globalisation, World Social Forum, European Social Forum, Complexity.
Paper 70: Another Science for Another World? Science and Genomics at the London Social Forum, Series Working Paper Series, (2004)
Additional Information
This paper represents a fragment of a more systematic approach to the London Social Forum which was the subject of an ESRC small grant application. The application took eight months to evaluate, was rated as of ‘national importance' by an external reviewer but not funded.