Technoscientific Dialogues. Expertise, Democracy and Technological Cultures

Abstract

The role of experts and their competencies in contemporary society are at the core of current debates in democratising technological cultures and establishing innovative forms of responsible dialogue within society. This section offers a reworking of the materials presented during the seminar hosted by “Giannino Bassetti” Foundation in Milan on May 3, 2010. The first article is part of the keynote speech given by Wiebe Bijker, one of the founding scholars of STS in the European scene. He draws from ethnographic results of his research on the Dutch Health Council and the risk governance of nanotechnologies. Two comments follow. The first one, by Paolo Volonté, focuses on the relationship between democracy and scientific knowledge, as well as the subtle ambivalence of democratisation starting from the intrinsic undemocratic character of scientific authority. The second comment by Cristina Grasseni emphasises the implications of a committed engagement of citizens in shaping forms of responsible innovation, when taking the science governance seriously.