Doing STS in and through Germany

Save the date

stsing was founded on 27 October 2020, so it is time for the first general assembly. Our hope was to have this during the Inaugural Conference, but due to the pandemic the conference had to be postponed.

Instead, we are planning a hybrid (online and in presence) event on 10 September 2021 at 16–19:30h. For it to be a bit more than simply organisational speak, there will also be a keynote speaker and a discussion on a current concern. Details will be communicated very soon.

Please note that not only members can attend the general assembly event. The technical issue group is currently developing voting systems that ensure that only those eligible to voting on association matters and to candidate for the next stsing board can actually do so. And we also base the system on trust (more information on the election process in item 6 below).

Call for Hubs for the General Assembly (help needed)

The general assembly will take place as a distributed event, but instead of each participating individually from their home, groups gather in a number of “regional hubs”, and participate together on zoom from these hubs – which can be a small office gathering, a picnic on the campus grass, a private home, a seminar room or indeed wherever you can meet safely (pandemic conform) and have a decent internet connection. Also, members of the board will run the general assembly via Zoom from different hubs, just as key note address and panel discussions will take place via Zoom.

One of the core reasons for organising hubs is that we hope that the local gatherings after the general assembly will go to a local restaurant or a bar to have a bite and a drink. We’ll find a way to stay connected over the evening as well. Maybe we continue the panel discussion that will end the general assembly. We hope the first stsing general assembly will thereby be a nice experience, which we believe happens when people (also) come together in person.

IMPORTANT

The local hubs can only be organized locally, so please consider organizing a hub in your area. Preferably, you communicate the hub via the mattermost channel “General Assembly Hubs”. Then the chance that other people in your area will see that it takes place and join you. You can also inform the stsing board, which will then announce the board together with other information about the general assembly: board@stsing.org

Originally initiated by the Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands e. V., a statement has been formulated concerning the precarious situation of most colleagues working in research and science in Germany. After a discussion on Mattermost, the stsing board decided to officially support the open letter. Please find more information about the letter here.

Dear all,

We are thrilled to inform you that it is now possible to apply for stsing membership! ✨
To apply, we kindly ask you to fill out the application form available here and send a filled-out and signed version to membership@stsing.org. 

We will also provide other options (i.e. web formular) to apply for membership as soon as they are available.

On behalf of the stsing board.
Simon David Hirsbrunner

We signed the statute [Vereinssatzung] on the 27th of October. Check here for the agenda. Here is the document of the Satzung. The board to be elected has the task of founding the association and organising elections for an ordinary board. Details were discussed during the meeting and recorded in minutes (to be published).

The preparation of this was mainly done on Mattermost, but we are also available for questions of any kind beyond this platform.

Here's an update: It worked out fine.

These following persons were elected:

• Baldeep Grewal, University of Potsdam
• Laura Kocksch, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Johanna Sentef, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt
• Kevin Hall, Philipps-Universität Marburg
• Paula Helm, Universität Tübingen
• Simon Hirsbrunner, FU-Berlin
• Estrid Sørensen, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

The positions will be allocated as soon as possible.

Our virtual social meeting in Prague was a success, with roughly 70 people joining us.

The most important result from the meeting: we will formally set up the association. This bureaucratic step is a means to "live the association in a participative and inclusive way", as Estrid Sørensen explained in her report of the organizational group's suggestion. Take a look at the statute to get an idea of what Estrid's visualizations (see below) imply. Most importantly, however, just join us on Mattermost where this structure is already explored. Since the Prague event, the list of registered members has grown steadily, as have the visits to this very website. 

Seven people are required, while we also need to elect the council members. We don't want to have power concentrated, and at the same time, we want to invite at least four PhD students to participate in this. The list of candidates for the board reflects this. The council is only supposed to accompany and prepare the work of the working groups, but being situated at the interface is, of course, informative and exciting. Join Mattermost to learn more, or drop a message to the Access Points of the Orga group.

Thanks again to Catharina Lüder and Ingmar Lippert for the moderation, and the inputs by Veit Braun (events), Simon Hirsbrunner (Mattermost), Stefan Laser (website), and Estrid (as indicated above).

Join us for a "social", you can find the event on the programme:

stsing – doing STS in the German research landscape

Thu, August 20, 1:40 to 3:00pm CEST (1:40 to 3:00pm CEST), virPrague, VR 24

STS is growing in Germany. A range of dispersed networks and organisations contributes to infrastructuring conversations between scholars doing STS research and teaching within or on Germany. We invite you to a conversation about how to further design our mutual engangement. We expect a range of harmonies, alliances and frictions to be voiced and recognised. That might offer generative food for thought and discussion to intensify relations. Looking forward to meeting you!

We will also use the event to briefly introduce the recent efforts of stsing, most importantly the main idea behind the Satzung. 

If you want to discuss a specific theme relating to STS in and through Germany during the meeting, do not hesitate to write to Catharina Lüder. She is the chair and collects themes.