Backchannels

Backchannels provides an outlet for alternative-format scholarly communications, publishing shorter, timelier, media-rich communiques of interest to the global STS community.

Lo que nos enseñan los cuerpos muertos sobre la vida, la muerte, la ciencia y los cuerpos

Reflections / Julia Alejandra Morales y Santiago Martinez Medina

¿What can dead bodies teach to the living? In this entry the authors build on their ethnographic works to reflect on this topic. They also put forward possible lessons from the amphitheatre and anatomy classes in Colombia.

Cross-national Genetic Research with Klaus Hoeyer, Aaro Tupasela and Malene Bøgehus Rasmussen

Reflections / Aleka Gurel

Backchannels interviews Klaus Hoeyer, Aaro Tupasela and Malene Bøgehus Rasmussen about their recent ST&HV paper, “Ethics Policies and Ethics Work in Cross-national Genetic Research and Data Sharing: Flows, Nonflows, and Overflows.”

How migrant registration infrastructures co-produce citizens, institutions and territory

Projects / Annalisa Pelizza

The European database containing fingerprints of asylum seekers, called Eurodac, is now interoperable with national police authorities’ databases Europe-wide. What are the implications?

A personal plea from Europe’s polar bears

Reflections / Amanda Windle

Coverage in the press around how the EU Referendum will affect researchers has been heavily skewed towards the sciences, yet there is crucial EU funding available for all areas of research from tech through to the arts. The first impact will be that the research landscape becomes far more labyrinthian for UK researchers. It is already mind-numbingly complicated. But my way of dealing with the complexity has been to get involved, and to advise on priority areas such as the dual need for more research and skills training around audience development via digital means. Through Voices of Culture, I’ve been able to impact on policy and the funding agenda for culture. ... I can only join in with this work because the UK is a member of the EU. Leaving means funding potentially gets smaller, more complicated and we don’t get to input so widely into that agenda. How can UK research remain innovative if we’re not shaping that at the EU level?

Why A Partisan for Spaceflight Wants to Slow Down Space Exploration

Reflections / Michael Bouchey

The prospect of human beings finally setting foot on another heavenly body after over 50 years is creating a great deal of excitement among partisans for spaceflight.

Graduate Student Organization 6S Recaps Barcelona Adventures

Report-backs / Erika Szymanski and Margarita Rayzberg

With new initiatives--and a brand new Facebook page--6S organizers are pursuing ways to promote broad participation.

Developing New STS Minors: The Case of Cal Poly

Projects / Richard D. Besel

From the interesting experience of Cal Poly, Richard Besel draws lessons for schools that want to establish STS programs.

Restitución de derechos para victimas del conflicto y el NO en Colombia: relecturas desde los ESCT

Reflections / Fredy Mora-Gámez

"Revisiting rights restitution and the narratives of peace from STS may also consist of interrogating the technical objects and expert discourses that make possible the promotion of those narratives" / "Una relectura desde los ESCT de la restitución de derechos y las narrativas de paz consiste también en problematizar aquellos objetos técnicos y discursos expertos que precisamente hacen posible promover dichas narrativas"

Molecular Detector (Non)Technology with Luis Reyes-Galindo: New Research in ST&HV

Reflections / Aleka Gurel

Dr. Luis Reyes-Galindo talks to Backchannels about his recent ST&HV paper, "Molecular Detector (Non)Technology in Mexico."

Our digital society, from citizens to companies, needs to understand the trolls

Reflections / Amanda Windle

However we choose to name indirect forms of violence whether it is by calling it – flaming, trolling, smearing or slamming — finding new words to express age-old forms of violence towards women is part of the problem.