東亞會議主旨 THEME

探索東亞科技與社會

今年會議的主題是「探索東亞科技與社會」，我們之所以取用這個主題，是希望引發與會者共同來探討我們這一個聚合的可能意義。一般常識以為「科技」放諸四海皆準，而「社會」則因國家而不同，因此一個不以國界為限的「東亞科技與社會」究竟所指為何？ 又有何意義呢？

直覺地看來，集結東亞三國的STS學者應當是有意義的。首先，有一些由歐美學界看來不屬於理論前沿的STS議題，卻可能正是東亞三國社會的關注焦點，例如核能發電與能源政策。此外，三國間在地緣、文化、經濟、歷史上有著千絲萬縷的關連與交流，但在「科技與社會」上的關連，卻仍有待學者合力開展。日本殖民的歷史，使三國在「帝國與殖民醫學」串成一個流動的網絡，三國步入現代醫學體制並廢止傳統醫療的過程，本就是一段緊密關連的殖民醫學史。當前生物科技的倫理爭議，多少會涉及東亞三國共享的文化遺產，而頗不同於基督教架構下對「扮演造物主」的褻瀆問題。

最後，當然，我們不止關心共同的文化淵源、糾結的歷史經驗、與近似的當前挑戰，三國間「科技與社會」研究的不同重點，更是我們可以彼此攻錯、相互學習的領域，例如臺灣STS社群中格外活躍的性別與技術研究便是一例。為此我們也希望在議程中探索並嚐試突出這些不同之處。事實上，對於原本常自限於國家疆域內的科技想像而言，一個跨國的連線本身便有機會帶來一個不同的視野。臺、日、韓三國的STS學者，以往並不乏機會在歐美學會主辦的各種相關會議中聚首，那麼一個以東亞STS學者為主的學術社群，可以有什麼特殊的意義與，貢獻呢？為了邁向這些目標，我們又當如何來共同建設這個學術社群呢？今夏臺北的會議將是我們共同探索這兩個問題的一個起點。

Conference Theme

Exploring the East Asian STS

We have chosen, 'Exploring the East Asian STS" as the organizing theme for our three day meeting. We hope that this theme will challenge conference participants to think about the potential value, meaning and contribution of the construction of an "East Asian STS," both as an area of research and an academic network. Common wisdom suggests that "science and technology" transcend the national boundaries whereas "society, in contrast," is strongly nationally contextualized, therefore, the real meaning of a trans-national "East Asian STS" is of interest.

At first glance, talk about East Asian STS makes sense. In tackling ethical issues surrounding bio-technology, several conference participants have encountered values and norms more directly related to East Asian culture, rather than to the Christian concern of "playing God." Looking back at recent history concerning "Empire and Medicine," will show the ways that three countries moved toward modern hygiene and abandoned traditional health-care were highly entwined and closely connected processes. Besides, while most European and North American countries are no longer occupied with the issue of nuclear energy, it still constitutes a crucial challenge to East Asian societies. Our efforts should not be confined to seeking related cultural heritage, entwined historical experience and the like. Rather, significant differences among the three STS communities can provide the most effective stimulus for meeting challenges and learning from each other. Hence, we plan to bring to the foreground the different approaches to and emphases on aspects of STS, including for example, the relatively strong interest in "Gender and Technology" within Taiwan's STS community.

In the past, opportunities did exist for STS scholars from Taiwan, Korea and Japan to meet with each other, quite often at annual meetings and conferences organized by Western scholarly associations. So, the question is, what purposes can be served by having an "East Asian STS," as both a field of research and a scholarly community? Moreover, to fulfill this purpose, how should we work together to construct this community? In addition to several exciting issues, these two questions are the general questions that we hope to explore together during our meeting in Taipei this summer.