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Social spotlights UW’s leadership in STS at conference with 2,000 attendees

From September 3-6, 2025, more than 100 University of Washington faculty and students presented at Reverberations, the 50th Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), a leading interdisciplinary conference for scholars engaged in social studies of science, technology, and medicine (a field often referred to as STS), which was held in Seattle.

To recognize and celebrate this extraordinary demonstration of UW’s expertise, Society + Technology at UW hosted the UW Social at 4S for the 2,000 attendees.

The party was held on the Garden Terrace of the Summit Seattle Convention Center. 

Announcement of the UW Social co-sponsors: Society + Technology at UW, hosted by the Tech Policy Lab, University of Washington Press, 4S, Science, Technology & Society at UW Bothell, the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, the Science, Technology and Society Studies Graduate Certificate Program, the Department of Communication, CommLead, Human Centered Design and Engineering, DXARTS, and the Department of Bioethics and Humanities at UW Medicine. Credit: Matthew Weinstein
The event was held at the Garden Terrace at the Summit Conference Center. Credit: Matthew Weinstein
Larin McLaughlin of UW Press. Credit. M Weinstein
HCDE’s Anoolia Gakhokidze. Credit: M Weinstein
The party went until after 10:00 PM Credit: L. Boyd

To spotlight UW, the Social featured an academic bingo activity, named co-sponsors and faculty speakers, and celebrated UW faculty working at the critical intersections of technology and society with a special book giveaway: 

Nassim Parvin (right), Associate Professor at the University of Washington (UW) Information School, with host Monika Sengul-Jones (left). Credit: Matthew Weinstein

The AI Con by Emily Bender (Linguistics, UW Seattle) and Alex Hanna.

Technocreep and the Politics of Things Unseen edited by Neda Atanasoski and Nassim Parvin (Information School, UW Seattle).

Unmaking the Bomb by Shannon Cram (IAS, UW Bothell).

LIsa Hoffman, Shannon Cram at Welcome Table.
At the Welcome Table at the UW Social at 4S: Shannon Cram (center), Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at UW Bothell, and Lisa Hoffman (left), Associate Professor in Urban Studies at UW Bothell. Credit: Matthew Weinstein, 2025

During the conference, several UW faculty gave signature talks, including:

  • Associate Professor Dian Million (American Indian Studies) delivered the presidential plenary keynote on generative dis/connections between indigenous studies and science and technology studies.
  • Faculty Lupe Alberto Flores (American Ethnic Studies) and Diana Flores Ruíz (Cinema & Media Studies) featured as keynote speakers in an address on Bordering, which traced struggles and solidarities across bordering mechanisms, describing the use of systems of attention and surveillance to violently separate, confine, and debilitate.
  • Graduate students Althea Rao and Sadaf Sadri (DXARTS), and alum Chari Glogovac-Smith (DXARTS), gave the threaded keynote address Art Scenes, offering remarks that recast the technological logics of capitalist racialization and militarism for creative possibility.
  • PhC Gabrielle Banabdallah (HCDE) organized the zine festival.
  • Faculty and students from Cinema & Media Studies, HCDE, DXARTS, Philosophy, the Information School, Bioethics & Humanities, and more presented their work.

Reverberations was co-chaired by UW faculty Daniela Rosner (HCDE/DXARTS) and Jenna Grant (Anthropology). The organizing team, included Lisa Hoffman (Urban Studies, UW Tacoma), Ryan Burns (IAS, UW Bothell), Anissa Tanweer (eScience, UW Seattle), David Ribes (HCDE, UW Seattle), Wes King (Information School, UW Seattle), Kavita Dattani (GWSS, UW Seattle), Shannon Cram (IAS, UW Bothell).

The University of Washington does not have a single disciplinary home for Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholarship; rather, scholars engaged in research and teaching on the cultural and social aspects of technoscience cross-cut the campuses—from the STS undergraduate program at UW Bothell to the unfunded STSS graduate certificate program, directed by Leah Ceccarelli (Communication).

Daniela Rosner, co-chair of 4S (center, in blue) with faculty and friends at the UW Social at 4S. Credit: Matthew Weinstein

Co-sponsors of UW Social included: Society + Technology at UW, hosted by the Tech Policy Lab, University of Washington Press, 4S, Science, Technology & Society at UW Bothell, the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, the Science, Technology and Society Studies Graduate Certificate Program, the Department of Communication, CommLead, Human Centered Design and Engineering, DXARTS, and the Department of Bioethics and Humanities at UW Medicine.

Event photographers: Logan Boyd and Matthew Weinstein.

Special thanks to: Abirami Kimsuka Subramanian, Afroditi Psarra, Alex Bolton, Anoolia Gakhokidze, Daniela Rosner, Jane I. Skau, Kyra Arnett, Lisa Hoffman, Matthew Weinstein, Rey Jingrui Yan, Rin Yilin Huang, Sara Goering, Sayan Bhattacharjee, Seohee Kim, and Shannon Cram

David Ribes, right, with friends at UW Social. Credit: Matthew Weinstein
More than 100 UW faculty, staff, researchers, and students participated in the annual 4S.

UW Social at 4S will celebrate UW’s contributions to the STS field

On Friday, Sept. 5, the UW Social at 4S will be held in the Garden Terrace at the Summit, a pollinator garden. Photo credit: Garden Terrace (Night), Summit (2025)

SEATTLE — More than 100 University of Washington faculty and students will present their research this September at Reverberations, the 50th Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), a leading interdisciplinary conference for scholars engaged in social studies of science, technology, and medicine (a field often referred to as STS).

To mark the occasion, Society + Technology at UW is inviting all 4S attendees to register to attend the UW Social, to celebrate UW’s contributions to the field of STS and to foster connections and stoke curiosity.

UW Social

The party will be on Friday, September 5, from 8:30 to 10:00 p.m. on the Garden Terrace (third floor) of the Summit at the Seattle Convention Center. Reverberations will take place at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and the Summit at the Seattle Convention Center from September 3-6, 2025. 

“This is an exciting opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous and ongoing work in this interdisciplinary field happening at UW across all three campuses,” said Monika Sengul-Jones, co-host of the UW Social with Daniela Rosner, a professor in Human Centered Design and Engineering and Co-chair of Reverberations.

“And it’s in a pollinator garden, which is a gesture to our intention with the party: to be a space to pollinate and to strengthen the assemblages that animate STS as a field of creation and critique.”

Who can attend?

The UW Social is free for registered 4S attendees, though separate registration for the party is required. Register online and pick up your paper UW Social ticket at the registration desk in the foyer of the Sheraton Hotel starting on Thursday at 1:00 p.m.

The first 150 guests to register and collect their paper ticket will receive a complimentary drink sticker they can redeem at the party; additional refreshments will be available for purchase.

Co-sponsors of UW Social include: Society + Technology at UW, hosted by the Tech Policy Lab, University of Washington Press, 4S, Science, Technology & Society at UW Bothell, the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, the Science, Technology and Society Studies Graduate Certificate Program, the Department of Communication, CommLead, Human Centered Design and Engineering, and DXARTS.

Attending 4S? Register for the UW Social

Register

Last STSS/S+T at UW Mixer of the academic year

Roses, Thorns, Buds | Thursday, June 12 | 3:00–4:30 PM | The Truly House, UW Bothell

As the quarter winds down, STSS faculty and affiliates are invited to the final mixer of the academic year—an informal gathering at the historic Truly House at UW Bothell co-hosted by Society + Technology at UW.

Roses, Thorns, Buds
Thursday, June 12, 2025
3:00–4:30 PM
The Truly House, UW Bothell
Add the event to your calendar 

Enjoy snacks in an Adirondack chair in the rose garden or sit in the shade on the porch of the 100-year-old ranch house near the West Parking Garage. Join us to connect and reflect on the values, technologies, and ideas shaping our work now and going forward. The roses, the thorns, the buds.

Hosted by: Monika Sengul-Jones (Society + Technology at UW/STSS) and Kim Swenson (Center for Teaching and Learning, UW Bothell)

Questions? Email Monika at mmjones@uw.edu

Register for STS in CRISIS mixer at UW Tacoma

University of Washington faculty, students, and staff affiliated with or interested in joining the Society + Technology at UW’s campus community are invited to an in-person mixer: STS in CRISIS, hosted at UW Tacoma and in partnership with the STSS community. Matthew Weinstein (Education, UW Tacoma) joins Monika Sengul-Jones as the local co-host.

April 29, 2025
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
UW Tacoma | Birmingham Hay and Seed Building, Room 107
(Located on the 1st floor of the Birmingham Hay and Seed (BHS) Building)

STS in CRISIS

What is the purchase of STS to make sense of crises, past or present? How might STS itself be a site of crisis? STS in CRISIS is a provocation, not a diagnosis.

We’ll have modest refreshments available.

Join us! The event is free, but please register by Friday, April 26.

Registration link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfX6QSaoGSfvy-tuwdidFVgt8JbazCpPwRoZxgEKuxIDRikXw/viewform?usp=dialog

While STS in CRISIS is designed for UW faculty, staff, and students, stay tuned to learn more about future public-facing events and salons.

Call for Applications for STSS Graduate Certificate Program Now Open

For University of Washington graduate students interested in the STSS Graduate Certificate Program, the call for applications is now open. The deadline is May 15, 2025.

The STSS Steering Committee reviews applications once a year at the end of the Spring quarter.

The STSS Graduate Certificate Program is the 18-credit interdisciplinary add-on certificate for UW graduate students interested in science, technology and society studies.

Instructions and the application link is on the STSS “how to apply” page.

More information about the STSS certificate program can be found here.

S+T at UW Pop-Up Working Groups on Science, Society & Justice

Cross-posted with Society + Technology at UW

Register Now: S+T at UW Pop-Up Working Groups on Science, Society & Justice

Society + Technology at UW is offering a new three-part Pop-Up Working Group on Science, Society & Justice for the UW community, hosted by Dr. Tim Brown (Department of Bioethics & Humanities).

Tuesday, February 11, 2025 | Topic: Airing
9:30 – 10:25 AM (PT)
📍 Online | Chatham House Rule
Register for the first session on Feb. 11

Tuesday, February 25, 2025 | Collaborating
9:30 – 10:25 AM (PT)
📍 Online | Chatham House Rule
Register for the second session on Feb. 25

Tuesday, March 11 | Creating
9:30 – 10:25 AM (PT)
📍 Online | Chatham House Rule
Register for the third session on March 11

About the Working Group Theme: Science, Society & Justice

This working group begins with a guiding question: what does research, teaching, and intellectual life around science, society, and justice mean in 2025 for UW faculty, staff, and students?

To answer to this question, we are fostering a brave space for shared support, empathy, and uplifting dialogue. Hosted by Tim Brown, PhD, and moderated by Monika Sengul-Jones, PhD, the goal is to be a space for UW affiliates to collectively and iteratively discuss current affairs in relation to our charge at the university and determine key takeaways. 

“[W]e are witnessing tectonic shifts in the global political landscape that will deeply impact science and society research. UW faculty, staff, and students will need to adapt and respond in ways that uphold our values and uplift our communities,” said Brown. “To promote academic freedom and integrity at UW and beyond.”

Are the sessions the same?

No, the three Pop-Up Working Group sessions are not duplicates. Instead, the series is designed as an interlinked, emergent, and aggregated conversation.

I can’t attend, should I still register?

Yes, then you’ll receive information about the conversations and the opportunity to connect with others.

Will the sessions be recorded?

No, the Pop-Up Working Group sessions will not be recorded. If you’re unable to attend one or more sessions but would like to connect with Dr. Tim Brown about these themes more generally, you may reach out directly at timbr@uw.edu.

About Tim Brown, PhD

Tim Brown is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics & Humanities and a founding member of the Neuroethics Thrust within the Center for Neurotechnology at UW. His research explores the intersections of biomedical ethics, philosophy of technology, and social justice, particularly in the context of neurotechnologies and their societal impact.

🔗 Learn more about Dr. Tim Brown: https://depts.washington.edu/bhdept/timothy-brown-phd

About S+T Pop-Up Working Groups

S+T Pop-Up Working Groups are thematic problem-solving sessions proposed and hosted by members of the Society + Technology Affiliate network. Each session is a 55-minute online conversation addressing a timely question or challenge.

The first Pop-Up Working Group in 2024 emerged from a reading group discussion on AI at UW. Have a question or problem you’d like to explore with the S+T network? Propose a Pop-Up Working Group session by emailing mmjones@uw.edu.

🔗 Learn more: https://depts.washington.edu/societytech/wordpress/community-programs/

Register now: Dr. Evelynn Hammonds’ lecture on equity in research, Monday, March 17 at 9 am

Posted on behalf of the Office of Research

The Office of Research will welcome Dr. Evelynn Hammonds for “The Long Road to Equity in Research“ on Monday, March 17, 2025, from 9 am to 11 am in the Walker-Ames Room of Kane Hall.

The event will begin with a coffee and tea reception from 9 to 9:30 am, followed by Dr. Hammonds’ lecture from 9:30 am to 10:30 am, then there will be time for questions.

Register here. 

Graduate students interested in meeting with Dr. Hammonds following the lecture can contact Sara Curran for details (scurran@uw.edu).  

About Dr. Evelynn Hammonds

Dr. Hammonds is Harvard University’s Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of History of Science, Professor of African and African American Studies & Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the T. Chan School of Public Health.  In her lecture, Dr. Hammonds will explain how achieving equity in the scientific, technical and academic enterprises in the United States has been a long struggle.  

Reminder: Submit Abstracts by Friday, Jan 31 for 4S in Seattle

If you haven’t yet, write and submit your abstract to participate in 4S, the 2025 conference will be in Seattle, WA at the Sheraton Grand Hotel on September 3-6, 2025.

The deadline for submitting abstracts to open panels, closed panels, meet-ups, Making & Doing, and more, is January 31, 2025.

With more than 200 open panels proposed by scholars working in nearly every continent and relating to a wide range of STS themes and conceptual frameworks, scholars are encouraged to submit abstracts to more than one of the open panels. View the open panels to learn more.

According to the organizers, the 4S 2025 meeting will primarily be in person, but with a hybrid set-up to enable online participation.