Introduction: Navigating My First Large Conference
As a master’s student in the Science and Technology program at Goethe University, I was delighted to attend this year’s EASST-4S conference “Making and Doing Transformations.” This was my first large conference, and it turned out to be an academic and personal journey. Specialising in environmental infrastructures in coastal regions, I was eager to see how diverse fields could inform my work. This review contains my personal impressions and reflections on panels that inspired my thinking. I also share some practical lessons for early career academics navigating their first conferences.
Initial Impressions: Overwhelmed and Disoriented
Staying with a childhood friend who was presenting his thesis research at the conference gave me an up-close perspective on what it is like to present your work at an international conference as a master’s student. The EASST-4S conference was initially overwhelming compared to smaller events I had attended, such as the Leakage Conference in Dresden. However, the workshop “Demystifying Publishing Landscapes for Early Career Researchers (ECRs)” was a perfect entry point, offering a calm environment with coffee and snacks to meet fellow ECRs, listen to publishing advice, and ease into the experience. As I left the workshop, the conference’s scale hit me: people around me, everywhere, heading to their panels, and I did not know where to go. I wandered through the venue, noticing people heading in different directions to attend their first panels, unsure where I should go myself. I felt disorientated, so I checked the panels I had marked to attend in my program. However I did not know where the first panel was being held. I met some people from Frankfurt University and asked them where to go, even convincing some to come with me to this panel. In the end, we found the panel together.
Each conference day was similarly overwhelming, as there was so much to see. I saw many people approaching new and old friends. I had the desire to imitate their behaviour, look for familiar faces, or approach new people, but I felt shy and overwhelmed by the incredible number of people. Luckily, I wasn’t alone, as several colleagues from Goethe were also attending the conference. During these days, I realised that going from panel to panel can be exhausting. I felt drained, but simultaneously filled with excitement and joy, because every panel seemed to offer something novel and inspiring. This diversity made me very aware of the possibilities opened up by Science and Technology Studies. I already knew a lot through my studies, but EASST/4S provided many new insights into current research.
The Importance of Community: Social and Emotional Connections
Walking through the conference, I realised that EASST/4S functioned as a reunion for many—a community reconnecting. This duality between those who were familiar with and comfortable with this environment and those, like me, who were navigating a new space was especially visible during the celebration of the life and work of Adele Clarke during the Bernal Prize lecture. A deep sense of mentorship and partnership was palpable even to an ‘outsider.’ The conference was clearly not just about intellectual exchange, but also the emotional bonds created and sustained during academic careers. For me, it was an important realisation that building meaningful relationships is possible throughout your career.
Engaging with Panels: Learning and Inspiration
My panel selections were influenced by two factors. First, my familiarity with the lecturers. Second, my interest in the topics themselves. I was therefore conflicted between a wish to appreciate the people I have read, and my own research interests. My decision-making was thus a balancing act between familiarity and novelty. My first panel was titled “Making and doing Oceanic Futures: mobilising the Ocean and its Materialities between Hope and Loss.” This session aligned with my own research interests in coastal regions and land-water relations. The most exciting part for me was not the substance of the panel but rather how many different fields the speakers were coming from. These included a historian with a presentation titled: “Representing deep seas in the early modern period: fortunes and wreckages” (Jip van Besouw), and a legal scholar contemplating the rights of nature in “Agency and representation of the ocean: exploring the political and legal representation of the ocean through the Rights of Nature (RoN) and posthumanist STS” (Mariam Carlsson Kanyama).
It was stunning how these diverse speakers gathered in one panel, which gave me the impression that STS is a very open field full of exchanges between various perspectives. I asked myself what role do history and law play in my field? These questions pushed me to consider the broader implications of my research on coastal infrastructures, particularly how legal and historical perspectives could deepen my analysis of environmental practices. For instance, the discussion on early modern deep-sea cartography made me think about the long history of ecological practices and how these historical legacies influence modern infrastructures. It showed me that the historical context is often closer to the present than you might imagine.
I attended another panel-—”Theorising the Breakdown of Digital Infrastructures”—because I knew one of the speakers – Laura Anna Kocksch – from a previous conference, despite having little knowledge of the topic. The panel was full of surprises, as I hadn’t seen Laura present her work before. Laura’s presentation “Fragile computing – how to live with insecure technologies” theorised the relationship between the mundane and breakdowns, which resonated deeply, especially after reading Latour’s reflections on Gabriel Tard, and the capacity of the small to contribute to ANT. Thinking more about the small, which happens in the mundane, has strongly impacted my thinking:
“You can enrol some aspects of the monads, but you can never dominate them. Revolt, resistance, breakdown, conspiracy, alternative is everywhere. Doesn’t one have the impression of reading Deleuze and Guattari’s Mille Plateaux? The social is not the whole, but a part, and a fragile one at that!” (Latour 2012, 124)
The next exciting panel I attended was “Critical Temperature Studies: spaces, technologies, and Regimes of Thermal Power,” which I chose because Thomas Lemke is a professor at my university. This was a rewarding return to familiarity for two reasons. First, seeing a professor in a completely new setting outside the university lecture hall was striking, as their presentation mode subtly shifts. This helped me see that a conference is a thrilling setting for everyone, not only for first-time visitors. Second, I learned through Lemke’s presentation ” Critical Temperature Studies. Current Issues and Perspectives of a New Research Field ” that Critical Temperature Studies is a growing area of research that brings many fields together, such as the Arctic humanities, cyropolitics, thermal colonialism, thermal modernity, and critical heat studies. I realized that conferences allow you to see new themes and dynamics emerging in the academic world.
The last panel I discuss here was titled “Beyond Anticipation and Preparedness—Governing Climate Emergencies.” This was a roundtable discussion of a topic closely aligned with my research interests. The presentation “From Preparedness to Adaptive Management: Governing Water Volatility in California” by Andrew Lakoff was fascinating. Lakoff examined how anticipation dynamics can be integrated within adaptive planning. This helped me to think about how organisation works in the twenty-first century, especially in projects that try to capture the future.
Practical Tips for Future Conference-Goers
Reflecting on my visit to EASST-4S, I want to emphasise some points for early career researchers attending their first major conference. First, it’s okay to feel overwhelmed when attending a big conference for the first time. You will see group dynamics with many unfamiliar faces, and it’s okay just to sit down and observe, like an anthropologist, to see how the community interacts and how people get to know each other. When you are overwhelmed by what might seem like social chaos, it can be helpful to just lean back and observe until you feel comfortable approaching others.
Second, I also noticed that it’s important not to rush straight into every lecture but to inform yourself beforehand and plan breaks outside of the official breaks. Typically, the official breaks are social events, so try to ensure extra breaks even if there are infinite exciting topics. Pauses are essential for mental rest, and for reflecting on the new ideas you have encountered. Conferences are overwhelming, and giving yourself time to absorb the content can lead to deeper insights. This is especially important when you are less familiar with the setting than those who do this regularly.
My last advice to other newbies would be to explore, think about your work, select interesting panels, and make sure that you investigate topics that might not mean anything to you at first. However, it’s also a good idea to listen to scholars whose work you have read for your studies—seeing how their thoughts have developed or whether they are striving to create new fields. However, do not force yourself to be explorative at every minute of every day; go see a person from your university or someone you know personally and look at what they are doing. This can give you energy when you have to step out of your comfort zone.
Conclusion: Growing Into the Field
Attending the EASST-4S conference was an academic learning experience and a personal exploration of what it means to belong to a scholarly community. From diving into panels outside my usual research scope to observing the profoundly social nature of academic gatherings, I left with a clearer understanding of how one can contribute to and navigate the field of STS. As I continue my academic journey, I now understand that attending conferences is about gaining knowledge and building a sense of belonging in the scholarly community.
Anand, N, Akhil, G., and Hannah Appel. (2018). The Promise of Infrastructure. SAR Advanced Seminar Titles. Durham: Duke University press.
Latour, B. (2012). Gabriel Tarde and the End of the Social“. In Social in Question, herausgegeben von Patrick Joyce, 117–32. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Author biographies
I am Benjamin Leon Hoffmann, a young scholar in STS. I am a student in two master’s programs at Goethe University Frankfurt, one in science and technology studies and the other in philosophy. Besides studying, I work at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and the Writing Center. Coming from an anthropological background, my research areas are environmental STS, infrastructure and temporality. My recent interest has been in discussing new materialism, and I deeply admire Stefan Helmreich’s work about waves and Gilles Deleuze’s life work.
