About

About

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. Our conference concept 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.

Venue

Buildings HGB and GABF
51.443325, 7.258841
Ruhr University Bochum
Universitätsstraße 150
44801 Bochum

Plus off-campus venues on Thursday.

How to get there📍

Metro/Subway (U-Bahn): At Bochum’s main train station, ICE, IC, EC, regional trains, and city trains arrive and depart galore. You can reach the Ruhr-University's own station easily by metro (U-Bahn) train U35 (CampusLine). On workdays, the U35 (towards “Bochum Hustadt”) departs every five minutes, and it takes less than 10 minutes from central station to our stop “Ruhr Universität”. You need a ticket of category A (Preisstufe A). Tickets are available through the German railway app (“DB”) or at vending machines at every station in exchange for cash and need to be validated in the train.

How to get from the metro station "Ruhr-Universität" to venue in “HGB” After leaving the platform, turn right over the bridge to the main campus. Keep right and pass the university library. Take the stairs down and turn right. On your left you see the (red) campus store. After passing it you continue downstairs. You are facing the GA-building (it is the first of three) now. Please walk a bit further to enter the building between building GA and GB called HGB. Day one starts with the welcome address in the auditorium on the ground floor. Room HGB 10.

You can use this interactive map of the campus to find building HGB: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/de/map/baustellen-rub_795377#16/51.444118/7.262993

Or, follow our dear devil: https://maps.app.goo.gl/su98KsXG5yXHr8Ku5

Organisers

The stsing 2026 conference is organized by RUSTlab, the Ruhr area STS lab and node of the stsing e.V. This includes: Sandra Abels, Leman Çelik, Ruth Eggel, Laura Kocksch, Stefan Laser, Mace Ojala, Kerstin Parasidis, Fabian Pittroff, David Schupp and Estrid Sørensen.

You can contact the organising team via e-mail: stsing2026@ruhr-uni-bochum.de.

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. Learn more about stsing on our main website.

Supporters

The event is kindly supported by

Sending hugs and thanks to these generous supporters! 🙋✨

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