An Archaeology of STS in Turkey

This exhibit focuses on the intellectual and institutional trajectory of STS in Turkey. As a field of study, critical STS is relatively new in Turkey, starting with the establishment of the STS MA program in Istanbul Technical University in 2000. However, interest in discussing science and technology among social scientists in Turkey predated that, particularly in the form of policy studies that is exemplified in the graduate program of Science and Technology Policy Studies at the Middle East Technical University. An Archeology of STS in Turkey: Archives, Universities, and Collective Culture aims at excavating the fragmented material culture of STS in the last 20 years. The archeological records, which consist of various artifacts of STS, such as books, exhibition posters, articles, and reports, will uncover the challenges in institutionalizing STS in Turkey. The analysis of these excavations will also reveal some of the local characteristics of STS in Turkey: lack of institutional collaboration, archives, and subversive critique.