Cross-invitations 1: A two-way dialogue between STS and the histories of sciences regarding the work of Bruno Latour

We are launching the new series "Cross-invitations: Two-way dialogues between STS and the histories of the sciences" with a session dedicated to the work of Bruno Latour, led by Tomás Criado— Ramón y Cajal researcher within the CareNet-IN3 group at the UOC.

Coordinated by researchers Rubén Gómez Soriano (iHC-UAB) and Tomás Criado (UOC), this series aims to foster an active dialogue between Science and Technology Studies (STS) and the histories of the sciences, providing an opportunity to explore points of convergence, friction, and shared methodologies.

In each session, one or more researchers will present a selection of classic or influential texts that have been pivotal to their own research practice. The goal is for these texts—which need not be niche, but rather capable of prompting broad, fundamental questions—to serve as a starting point for collective reflection, the strengthening of a shared research agenda, and the identification of points of disagreement, all while engaging with diverse modes of inquiry, such as historiographical, ethnographic, or others.

With the aim of fostering cross-institutional engagement, each session will be held at an institution other than the one to which the presenters belong: when researchers from the iHC-UAB present, the session will take place at the UOC, and when researchers from the UOC present, it will be held at the iHC-UAB—hence the name "cross-invitations". The series also seeks to begin building a shared intellectual space that functions as a formative framework at the intersection of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and the history of science, pointing toward a common horizon: perhaps a canon of readings and references?

Cross-invitation 1: Facing Gaia by Bruno Latour

In this first session, we will discuss the ideas of philosopher and anthropologist Bruno Latour (1947–2022). A former director of the Master’s program in Political Arts at Sciences Po, Latour was a pivotal French thinker in the founding of Science and Technology Studies (STS). His extensive body of work—ranging from his pioneering laboratory ethnographies to broad reflections on modernity—has transformed how scientific practice is researched. In his final years, he devoted significant effort to developing frameworks for "landing" modernity, reimagining politics in the face of ecological catastrophe, and reflecting on how to confront the current "climatic mutation."

Tomás Criado invites us to delve into the work of Bruno Latour by reading the final four chapters of Facing Gaia: Eight Lectures on the New Climatic Regime* (Polity Press, 2017): "Fifth Lecture: How to convene the various peoples (of nature)?" (pp. 146–183), "Sixth Lecture: How (not) to put an end to the end of times?" (pp. 184–219), "Seventh Lecture: The States (of Nature) between war and peace" (pp. 220–254), and "Eighth Lecture: How to govern struggling (natural) territories?" (pp. 255–292).

This work, which draws on both ethnography and historiography, explores how the intrusions of Gaia impact modern political concepts. The texts highlight the importance of artistic experimentation in analyzing ecological controversies—not as abstract debates, but as territorial conflicts in which habitability itself is at stake. Specifically, we will examine what it means for "the moderns" to constitute a "people," and how the emergence of the New Climatic Regime compels us to redefine political conflict, moving beyond the traditional divide between nature and culture.

If you are interested in participating in this activity but do not have access to the recommended readings, please request them by emailing ruben.gomez.soriano@uab.cat or tomcriado@uoc.edu.

 

Upcoming sessions in the "Cross-Invitations" series

29.01.27 at the UOC: Simon Schaffer / Xavier Roqué (iHC-UAB) and Agustí Nieto-Galán (iHC-UAB)

09.04.27 at the UAB: Isabelle Stengers / Saioa Marron Perez (UCM), Biel Navarro López (UCM), and Pablo Alonso García (UOC)

21.05.27 at the UOC: Donna Haraway / Rubén Gómez Soriano (iHC-UAB)