Conference will explore concepts of 'expertise'

Cornell's Department of Science and Technology Studies will sponsor a conference on the question of "expertise" to be held on campus May 2 to 4.

Leading American and European scholars in the field of science and technology studies will examine the changing social and political meanings of expertise and its role in the making of modern culture.

Among the questions to be addressed: What is an expert? What does it mean to have expertise in technologically advanced societies? How is expert knowledge legitimated, and how does it achieve social power? How can expert knowledge be challenged? What responsibilities do experts have toward their fellow citizens in modern democracies?

The conference, in 701 Clark Hall, organized with support from the National Science Foundation, is titled "Knowledge and Its Discontents: Science, Expertise, Modernity." It is free and open to the public; pre-registration is required.

Panels will address the following themes:

• "Law, science and expertise," with Margaret Berger, Brooklyn Law School; Sheila Jasanoff, Cornell; and Martha Nussbaum, University of Chicago.

• "Modernity and expertise," with Yaron Ezrahi, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Helga Nowotny, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; Theodore Porter, UCLA; and Brian Wynne, University of Lancaster.

• "Custom, specialization and skill," with Harry Collins, University of Southampton; Peter Galison, Harvard University; Michael Lynch, Brunel University; and Steven Shapin; UC-San Diego.

• "Science, self and public," with Wiebe Bijker, University of Maastricht; Adele Clarke, UC-San Francisco; Aant Elzinga, University of Gothenburg; and Steven Yearley, University of York.

• "Science's responsibilities to its publics," with John Beatty, University of Minnesota; Thomas Eisner, Cornell; Evelyn Fox Keller, MIT; and Peter Weingart, University of Minnesota.

In conjunction with the conference, there will be a daylong workshop organized by Science and Technology Studies graduate students on Friday, May 2.

Further information and a registration form for the conference are available at the Science and Technology Studies Website at http://www.sts.cornell.edu/Workshop.html or from Lillian Isacks, Department of Science and Technology Studies, 726 University Ave.; phone: 255-6234; fax: 255-0616; e-mail: li10@cornell.edu .