By Olivia David, PhD Candidate at SEAS
In July, I attended the joint conference of the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology and the Society for Social Studies of Science (EASST-4S) in Amsterdam, with support from STPP’s professional development funding. At the conference, I presented some of my preliminary dissertation research on water shutoff politics in Detroit as part of a panel titled, “The promises and fractures of infrastructure: infrastructural imaginaries and the realities of our built world,” alongside scholars from around the world working on related topics. Afterwards, the panel participants had lunch together, and the panel conveners discussed ideas about further potential collaboration and staying in touch more generally. I made several valuable connections through the panel.
The rest of the conference was packed with interesting panels—there were many more that I wanted to attend than what I had time for! I mainly chose to attend panels on topics adjacent to my own research interests including infrastructure, water, politics of knowledge, and science communication—each panel I attended had a different specific theme and presentations coming at the theme from various angles and approaches. I also attended several panels that were less directly connected to my own work and were on topics I am less familiar with, which helped me get a better sense of the broader STS academic community.
Beyond the topics, I really enjoyed the conference for two reasons in particular: it felt very accessible to graduate students especially, and I got a lot out of engaging with other students and faculty from universities outside the US. It was my first time giving a paper presentation at a conference, but the generally friendly and constructive environment of the conference eased my nerves. I learned a lot from my fellow panelists’ presentations and audience members’ questions and got useful feedback on some of my ideas, which has already helped me think about my work in new ways. Being at a conference outside the US with most participants non-US based was valuable to me not only because some of my work focuses on South Africa, but also because it forced me to be more thoughtful about assuming someone’s baseline knowledge—for example, about US politics—and challenged me to be able to clearly explain certain concepts and their relevance in ways I may not necessarily consider if I were at a more US-centric conference.
Lastly, this trip was especially fun as I got to spend time with several fellow STPP students who also attended, plus Shobita and Molly! I learned more about everyone’s work and progress through attending their presentations, and luckily, we also got a bit of downtime to enjoy Amsterdam together. Thanks STPP for allowing me the opportunity!