What Can We Learn from the History of STS in Italy? A Few Hints for the Future

Abstract

By recalling his own career as an historian of science and technology, the author sketches the history of Science and Technology Studies in Italy from their early steps in the 1970s and 1980s. He highlights the ways in which the field has gained visibility and substance in the Italian context, but also pointing out the constraints and hurdles that still must be overcome to consolidate it. In particular, the author underlines how the traditionally rigid disciplinary partitions of Italian academia and the nationally centralized system of Italian universities have hindered, and still hinder, the institutionalization and the potential impact of STS south of the Alps.