We are thrilled to share our experience at the Nordic STS conference held in Oslo from June 7th to 9th. PI Elena Raviola, Vasilis Galis and Luna Secher Rasmussen had the privilege of bringing our project research to the conference and participate with several contributions on digital practices at the Nordic borders. The conference was held at the Oslo University Blindern Campus and we thoroughly enjoyed the vibrant atmosphere of exchange and the sunny days in Oslo.
One of the highlights of our time at the conference was organizing the panel titled “Digital practices in institutionally complex contexts: Methodological challenges and practical solutions to understand the opaque and elusive.” This panel allowed us to delve into the intricate challenges faced when studying digital practices and propose novel methodologies to overcome these obstacles. During this panel, Elena Raviola and Luna Secher Rasmussen presented their method paper, titled “Cuts through complexities: methodological steps to map digital Nordic border practices”, co-authored with Ursula Plesner. The paper aimed to provide a systematic approach to navigate the complexities of studying digital practices within institutional contexts through structures mapping of documents data. We were delighted by the positive response from the audience, and the subsequent discussions further enriched our understanding of the topic.
Additionally, Luna Secher Rasmussen presented the early work of the paper “Accelerated retrofitting: Infrastructuring for openness and security at the digital Nordic borders through 20 years,” co-authored with Ursula Plesner, Bertil Rolandsson, in the panel titled “Sociotechnical Data studies.” Her presentation explored the dynamic relationship between openness and security and control in the infrastructural developments at the digital Nordic borders as seen through the lens of continuously retrofitting. We were thrilled to witness the audience’s engagement and the thought-provoking conversations that ensued.
The STS community represents for us an important academic arena for our project and we really appreciate the opportunity to present our project to the Nordic STS and to travel together. We look forward to continuing the conversations and joining future STS conferences!