Tittel: Forsker
Telefon: (+47) 77 64 54 78
Faks: (+47) 77 64 61 00
E-post: kare.nolde.nielsen@genok.org

Curriculum Vitae

What are the relationships between science and society? Is science ‘independent’? Should it be so? Such questions are addressed by Science and Technology Studies (STS). STS is an emerging body of literature, which includes perspectives pertaining to the sociology of science, ethnography, Actor Network Theory, and philosophy of science – and more. In general, I am interested in the relationships between scientific knowledge production and the socio-natural environments of this production. Besides STS, I have a background in biology, philosophy and fisheries management (see CV).

My recently completed PhD work was an examination of the complex boundaries between science and politics in fisheries management. While scientific advice on fisheries management is uncertain (and often disputed) it forms a basis for pressing management decisions. In this context, traditional conceptions of science as an ‘autonomous’ activity in society are challenged. This invites for different interpretations of what characterizes (mandated) science, but may also invite for the development of a set of different norms of science and politics.

Uncertainty about GMOs and nanotechnologies is for several reasons comparable to uncertainty about fish. We can neither see fish stocks nor GMOs, except by way of complex scientific representations. These representations define what in the socio-natural environment is relevant and what can be left out of consideration. In STS it is common to refer to this process of including and excluding concerns as ‘framing’. Moreover, knowledge about the state of fish stocks and about GMOs or nanotechnology is crucial for avoiding social and environmental hazards.

Interestingly, representations of uncertainty about GMOs have been shown to vary with institutional affiliations; they are framed differently. This implies that normative and epistemological issues become entangled, and that science becomes ‘post-normal’. If the science of assessing fisheries resources cannot be independent of fisheries management, can research on GMOs be independent of commercial interest of this research? How can we trust science in such contexts? When should ‘matters of fact’ be reopened as ‘matters of concern’? When and how should we take precautions?