400018 SE Expert Knowledge and Politics (2022W)

Contemporary politics and policy-making processes are characterized by two contentious trends. In the face of complex societal and environmental challenges, political decision-makers increasingly rely on specialized expert knowledge, which leads to the establishment of various formats involving expert consultations. Yet, while expert professionals may gain powerful influence through such consultation mechanisms, the knowledge they produce is often politicized, delegitimized, or rejected altogether. With populism and post-truth politics on the rise throughout the world, contestation of expert knowledge has become an integral part of present-day political discourses. This theory seminar invites PhD candidates to critically reflect on these trends through the lens of their own research. The course draws on a range of literatures, studying knowledge-politics interactions, including evidence-based policymaking, knowledge utilization, transfer of ideas, epistemic communities, as well as political and science communication, cumulating insights from several sub-disciplines of Social Sciences and Humanities. The course thus aims to stimulate the participants’ engagement with the current academic debates on the interrelationship between knowledge and power.

The course is held in a seminar form, drawing on collaborative and peer-to-peer learning techniques. Apart from the first introductory session, the course takes place in seven blocks of four academic hours each. Blocks 1-6 combine a participant-driven discussion session, based on preparatory readings, with an online lecture by a guest speaker, representing the strand of research discussed at the session. Participant-driven means that course participants will be given free space to identify the aspects of the preparatory reading they find particularly interesting to discuss. The participants are thus expected to familiarize themselves and critically engage with the preparatory reading materials in advance. Course instructors serve as discussion facilitators and moderate exchanges with guest speakers. The final Block 7 summarizes the discussed theoretical material in a practical exercise, with participants reflecting on the relevance of the selected analytical approaches to their own research projects.