Hey there, so this quarter I am taking a STS course where I have to pick out a laboratory on campus, and study the scientists as an ethnographer would. I would love to have some insight into how I could conduct my research in a John Law style, Actor Network Theory (ANT) analysis. For all of you academics out there who have made it their professional jobs studying STS, please help me out with any tips or advice you have had in labs or working with scientists on their pedestal of objectivity.
Without having a clue as to what any of the terms you used are, the first thing I would do if I were you is adjust my bias. The phrase, " …working with scientists on their pedestal of objectivity." hints at some sort of preconceived idea that scientists view themselves as being above everyone else. Ethnographers can’t do their job if they aren’t entirely objective. It’s a tough obstacle to overcome, but you’re going to have to do it to be successful.
But I might be wrong in my interpretation of that phrase, and if so, ignore my advice.
I’d never heard of STS, sounds fascinating. Approved Program Core Courses | Program in Science, Technology & Society
I would think it requires a balance of scientific thinking and the soft skills of psychology and sociology. I don’t know to even how to interpret “pedestal of objectivity”, since being objective is all about not putting your own feelings and biases ahead of whatever truth might be out there.