Dear colleagues,
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>Apologies for any cross-posting!
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>We would like to invite you to submit paper proposals for the session
<br>track *“How
<br>are technologies abandoned?”
<br>* at the
<br>Eu-SPRI conference in Utrecht, The Netherlands, 3-5 June 2020 (
<br>https://euspri2020.nl/call-for-papers/). The convenors are Zahar Koretsky
<br> (Maastricht University
<br>Science, Technology and Society Studies (MUSTS) group), Harro van Lente
<br> (Maastricht University
<br>Science, Technology and Society Studies (MUSTS) group), Peter Stegmaier
<br> (University of Twente; Science,
<br>Technology and Policy Studies (STePS) group).
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>The CfP will be open till *February 22, 2020*.
<br>
<br>For any inquiries please contact Zahar Koretsky at
<br>z.koretsky@maastrichtuniversity.nl
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>Session description:
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>Clearly, technologies are part and parcel of current systemic problems
<br>around climate change and global justice, both as problem and as solution.
<br>When the role of technologies is studied, however, the tendency is to focus
<br>on the emergence of new socio-technical arrangements. Yet, what about the
<br>fate of old technologies that threaten more sustainable modes of production
<br>and consumption? What about the ‘trajectories of erosion, decay, and
<br>fossilisation’ as Elisabeth Shove and Gordon Walker once coined the reverse
<br>dynamics?
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>Governing discontinuation and phase-outs can open up new horizons for,
<br>among others, effective climate action policy. Alongside nurturing niches
<br>and supporting sustainable novelties, a phasing-out of undesired
<br>technologies seems required to speed up low-carbon transition, not unlike
<br>the precedents of DDT and inefficient light bulbs discontinuation or the
<br>ongoing phasing out of nuclear and coal energy in Germany or gas in the
<br>Netherlands. Yet, a phase-out may pose many risks to economies, welfare,
<br>democracy and the natural environment (e.g. lost jobs, threatened food
<br>security, increased costs).
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>This session invites contributions to describe, characterize and analyze
<br>the decline, discontinuation, ‘death’ and ‘afterlife’ of (formerly)
<br>established technologies. How radically is discontinuation pursued in
<br>various cases? What remains (e.g., waste, special purpose technology,
<br>unused expertise, stranded assets)? One can also study discontinuation from
<br>a systemic point of view and ask (a) which parts of a larger system are
<br>phased out and which remain, and (b) what happens to the remaining parts,
<br>whether they change after the removal of other parts. We welcome empirical
<br>cases of discontinued technologies; comparisons between technologies,
<br>sectors or countries; and theoretical elaborations on trajectories of
<br>phase-outs.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>Best wishes, on behalf of the convenors,
<br>
<br>*Zahar Koretsky*
<br>
<br>
<br>*PhD Candidate at Maastricht University Science, Technology and Society
<br>Studies (MUSTS)Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS)*
<br>z.koretsky@maastrichtuniversity.nl
<br>
<br>
<br>Grote Gracht 76, 1.13
<br>P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
<br>T +31 43 38 82 767
<br>
<br>Note on name spelling: Zahar Koretsky is my publishing name, while my
<br>passport name, which is used only for bureaucracy-related matters, is Zahar
<br>Coretchii.
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