Arpentage & Ecriture. STS Writing Workshop #5

Registration: Please register here.

To receive updates, subscribe to the “Arpentage et Écriture” newsletter here.

The workshop is held in French.

The workshop aims to provide a welcoming space for young researchers of all disciplinary backgrounds who are interested in the study of science and technology in France. The workshop offers a forum for discussion based on group readings, fundamental concept discussions, and STS writing practices.

The workshop is organized around two primary activities:

Collective Reading and Analysis (Exploration /Arpentage)

Most sessions involve exploring a reference text or recent publication in the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). This approach begins with dividing a book or collection of articles into equal parts to facilitate collective exploration. During the first part of the session, participants read and take notes on different topics, such as theoretical concepts and arguments, links to their research, empirical examples, and questions or points of confusion. In the second part of the session, these notes are shared to build a collective understanding and deepen the discussion around the text and key concepts in the field of STS.

Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences

One to two sessions per year are dedicated to discussing scientific writing practices: 
– Presenting research findings to respondents or peers.
– Writing an ethnographic text and constructing a scientific narrative.

Workshop #5

This session is dedicated to the practice of writing STS. We will take the issues raised by writing PhD dissertation introductions as a specific example.
We are pleased to welcome Jeanne Oui, a CNRS researcher at LISIS, who will be co-hosting this session. We will be discussing the challenges of writing in the social sciences, as well as what constitutes an “STS” contribution today.

If you are currently writing your PhD dissertation introduction or have just finished it and would like to participate, we invite you to use this forum to tell us about your writing process and the choices you made. Alternatively, if you have not yet reached this stage of the writing process, but would like to submit an introduction to a dissertation you intend to write, we encourage you to try this writing exercise. You don’t need to worry if the references lack precision, the formatting is messy, the writing is imperfect, or your research is not yet well-established.

We therefore encourage you to send us a text, whether it is a work in progress or complete. Do not hesitate — the workshop aims to provide a welcoming forum in which to discuss work in progress.

Seminar Details

The seminar details are as follows (they will also be sent to participants by email):
– In-person in Paris at different locations to discover each other’s laboratories and universities
– Half-day sessions (four hours, including a snack break)
– Two types of sessions: Reading Workshop: Theory, Concepts, Methodology and Writing Workshop: Analysis, Writing, Fieldwork
– No work is required beforehand. Reading is done on site collectively using methods such as arpentage, which explains the extended duration of the sessions.
– A friendly atmosphere: we suggest sharing a meal after each session.

Workshop Organizers and Facilitators

Aurélien Béranger – PhD Candidate, Laboratoire Costech, Université de Technologie de Compiègne.
Email: aurelien.beranger@utc.fr

Dorian Groll – PhD Candidate, Centre Maurice Halbwachs, CAK.
Email: dorian.groll@ens.psl.eu

Alexia Pronesti – PhD Candidate, GSPR & Cermes3, EHESS.
Email: alexia.pronesti@ehess.fr

Solène Sarnowski – PhD Candidate, Centre de Sociologie de l’Innovation (CSI), Mines Paris & Télécom-Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, NOS.
Email: solene.sarnowski@minesparis.psl.eu

Learn more about the 2025-2026 Program for the seminar ‘Arpentage & Écriture: STS Reading Workshop’.