Bridgework: STS, Sociology, and the “Dark Matters” of Race

• Main Author: Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Society for Social Studies of Science 2016-07-01
• Series: Engaging Science, Technology, and Society
• Subjects: sts; bridgework; critical sociology; race and racial domination; materiality
• Online Access: http://estsjournal.org/article/view/74/48

This short essay reflects on intellectual bridges that scholars have built, are building, and could build to connect critical sociologies of race and STS. Whereas much work in these respective fields have rarely intersected, greater exchange could help scholars better account for ways in which race shapes and stratifies contemporary societies. To this end, the essay begins with a recent example of bridgework—research on race and genetics. Next, I use my own research on ethnoracial statistics to describe how bridgework happening elsewhere can indirectly create openings for connections across the divide. Finally, I propose that research on the broader sociotechnical materiality of race and racial domination represents an important site for further bridgework.