A History of Science and Technology Studies through Its Transnational Associations

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct how the institutionalization and intellectual consolidation of it now generally called now “STS” as a relatively stable, autonomous, and internationally unified research field occurred. Using the methodology of the transnational history of science and the sociology of the international circulation of ideas, my goal is to reconstruct, through the presentation archival material, how the major transnational collaborative networks of STS were established and institutionalized between the early 1970s and the first half of the 1980s. These are represented by PAREX, a bilateral project between the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris and the University of Sussex. From the network established by this project, the European Society for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) was created, which is now the leading European association in the STS field. Second, I will also reconstruct the foundation and institutionalization of the International Council for Science Policy Studies (ICSPS). This international institution played a strategic role in "science diplomacy" linking social studies of science among Western countries, Soviet bloc countries and some Third World countries. Finally, I will analyze the history of the establishment of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), currently considered the most relevant international association in the STS field. This was established in the United States by Merton and Mertonians. The main activities of these institutions or associations have been to build international networks through seeking funding, organizing conferences, structuring editorial projects, planning strategic publications, awarding prizes etc. through which the boundaries of the STS field have been defined. In summary, my goal to provide a more complete and accurate picture of what STS are and what their history has been than the widely shared image provided by the pedagogical literature.