Science, Technology and Democracy on the STS Agenda: Review Article

Irwin's 'Citizen Science' and Sclove's 'Technology and Democracy' represent two important recent attempts, from different precincts of the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS), to explore the democratization of science and technology. Irwin suggests that policies for democratizing science and technology should avoid the pre-definitions of science of experts. Sclove promotes the utilization of democratic design criteria to inhibit the unanticipated negative effects of technology on democracy. Despite their differences both texts address similar politkal questions and display some theoretical convergence. These similarities suggest that Sclove's claims that there is a clear division, according to their theoretical orientation between studies in STS which are concerned with the politics of science and technology and those which are not, are overstated. Both texts possess considerable merits but tend to romanticise 'lay knowledges' and oversimplify the politics of expertise.