[SSC] Launch of the Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective

Tue Nov 15 20:54:56 UTC 2011

Dear colleagues,

We are very pleased to announce the launch of the Social Epistemology
Review and Reply Collective <http://social-epistemology.com/> (
http://social-epistemology.com/). It is closely connected to the Taylor &
Francis journal Social
Epistemology<http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/02691728.asp>.
The Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective was founded in August
2010 by James Collier, the current executive editor of the Taylor & Francis
journal Social Epistemology<http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/02691728.asp>.
The current editor of the collective (July 2011 to July 2012) is Elisabeth
Simbürger.

At the moment we have 18
members<http://social-epistemology.com/about/who-we-are/>that are
based in different countries and continents. Our disciplinary
backgrounds are quite diverse, ranging from business administration,
philosophy, sociology, history, literature to science and technology
studies, biology and psychology, to name a few. Despite this diversity in
discipline and outlook, our shared roof is the research program of social
epistemology as outlined by Steve Fuller based on his first book Social
Epistemology (Indiana University Press, 1988) and the Taylor & Francis
journal Social Epistemology which he founded in 1987.

*Our aims*

This platform of intellectual exchange concerning themes that are paramount
to Social   Epistemology is a collective experiment in the making. Our main
aims are showcasing our own work, being in a dialogue with the journal *Social
Epistemology* and taking a stand on current themes of Social Epistemology –
from biotechnology to current knowledge work in neoliberal university
landscapes. The need for an online platform in addition to the journal *Social
Epistemology* emerged from changes in knowledge production over the last
years. Online platforms allow for a more immediate response to current
issues that may be of interest to social epistemology. Yet, rather than
questioning the value of traditional journals and articles, we see our
collective work as complementary to the journal *Social Epistemology* and
in close relation to it, merely adding new dimensions and formats of
discussing it (also see *Social Epistemology*, 2010, 24 (3), Special Issue:
‘Scientific Publications 2.0. The End of the Scientific Paper?).
<http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tsep20/24/3>Not only are we open to written
input such as articles, short essays, book reviews, comments,
meta-critiques, and aphorisms, but we also encourage visual formats such as
films, images as well as any audio material (interviews etc.). As the title
of our collective indicates, we predominantly see ourselves as a review and
reply collective.

*Reviewing...*

We either individually or collectively review contemporary books and
classics that are of interest to social epistemology. Besides, we aim for
high quality work irrespective of the format by reviewing each other’s
contributions.

*Replying....*

Our online platform serves as a space of engaging with current events and
themes that are relevant to social epistemology. As our online platform
allows for faster responses than traditional journals, we are particularly
interested in promoting shorter contributions. Moreover, the platform seeks
to foster a meta-critical discussion of the journal *Social Epistemology *with
replies to articles, a look at a particular topic addressed in the journal
over time, blog postings on subjects and issues, replies from past authors
and critical responses, commentaries and syntheses. We would like to
encourage dialogues among *Social Epistemology’s* print and digital authors
in the hopes that new approaches to writing, and writing about, academic
inquiry might evolve from it. In this sense, the platform can also serve as
a space for discussion of upcoming journal ideas or themes.

*A collective experiment in the making *

Collective work and academic exchange are often presented as ideal
scenarios in knowledge work. However, as our own experience has shown us so
far, working as a collective is by no means a straightforward and easy
process. Being based in different parts of the world with many of us never
having met in person, developing a collective dialogue is an even more
challenging endeavour. Besides, the requirements of an academic career
geared towards constant publishing and output in an era of quality
assurance, seem to leave little space for activities beyond that such as
collective work (See Stephen Norrie's paper Three Social Contracts for an
Academic Collective<http://socialepistemologydotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/three-social-contracts-for-an-academic-collective.pdf>).
We would like to revisit our process of developing as a collective in a
reflexive mode. Taking our own experience as a point of departure, one idea
so far was to pay increased attention to the relationship between
conditions of work at universities and knowledge work.

*Get involved!*

If you would like to be part of our collective or if you have an idea for a
contribution, please get in touch with us via email:
elisabeth.simburger at mail.udp.cl

You can follow us here: http://social-epistemology.com/

Best wishes on behalf of the Collective,

James Collier (Executive editor of *Social Epistemology*)

Elisabeth Simbuerger (Online editor *Social Epistemology Review and Reply
Collective*)

-- 

Dr Elisabeth Simbürger
Research fellow
Centro de Políticas Comparadas en Educación
Universidad Diego Portales
Vergara 210
Santiago
Chile

http://www.cpce.cl
http://udp.academia.edu/ElisabethSimbuerger/About
http://go.warwick.ac.uk/ep/pg/live/elisabethsimbuerger

email: elisabeth.simburger at mail.udp.cl; e.a.simbuerger at gmail.com;
Phone: +56 2 6768549
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