The theme of 2026 asks how Science and Technology Studies can speak to the futures of post-industrial societies. We take the Ruhr area (Ruhrgebiet) as a site to go through social, ecological, and technological transformations that follow industrial decline. And trouble we all face. Participants will engage with local histories, infrastructures, and knowledge practices to reflect on dynamics of transition that we experience on a planetary scale. Think climate change, growth and degrowth struggles, decolonisation, and war. The event invites collaborative formats to reflect on how STS can contribute to, and understand, just and situated responses to change in its various flavours.
The conference is designed to locate STS research explicitly within practical contexts, enabling participants to contribute and develop their research in relation to current issues in the Ruhr area. We will put a focus on engaging with concrete, situated cases. This will be the main focus and we invite everyone to participate in one case. But there will also be space to accomodate for additional papers. Plus, we will host keynotes, a panel, and offer various social events. Stay tuned and follow the news on this site.
Timeline
- Call for Cases July 25th – October 15th
- Call for Case Participation November 1st – December 1st
- Call for Papers (not case-based): September 30th – December 15
- Registration January 4th – February 15th
Submit your case proposal here https://survey.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/index.php/321829
Organisers
The stsing 2026 conference is organized by RUSTlab, the Ruhr area STS lab and node of the stsing e.V., in collaboration with the Virtuelle Lebenswelten (SFB 1567) Collaborative Research Centre, the “Ressources in Transformation (ReFORM)” Leibniz Science Campus, and the chair of Cultural Psychology and Anthropology of Knowledge, based at Ruhr University Bochum. Sendings hugs and thanks to these generous supporters!
stsing e.V.
stsing e.V. is an association (“Verein”) doing Science and Technology Studies (STS) in and through Germany, established in 2020. STS is an interdisciplinary field of research and activity interested in how science and technology are practically done and socially embedded. The association stsing is informed by international discussions and receives attention from plenty of senior and early career researchers.