Stitching Together Creativity and Responsibility

Abstract

This article explores Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as an “object of care” for use in examining the relationship between creativity and responsibility in the sciences and beyond. Through three short sketches from different disciplinary lenses—literature, science and technology studies, and feminist studies—readers get a sense of the different ways scholars might consider Shelley’s text as an object of care. Through an analysis and synthesis of these three sketches, the authors illustrate the value of such an object in thinking about broad cultural issues. The article acts as a kind of boundary object by creating distinct, yet overlapping narratives from an object that is owned by many social worlds. The three sketches reveal Frankenstein as a thoughtful consideration about what it means to care for, or fail to care for, one’s creation, rather than as a cautionary tale about the evils of scientific hubris. Although infrastructures at universities often prevent interdisciplinary dialogue, the article concludes that purposeful boundary objects created around objects of care like Frankenstein can help build bridges and create shared meanings for new interdisciplinary spaces.

The Circular Economy in Europe

“…Halpern and her colleagues in their STS inspired reading of Mary Shelley's Frankensteina literary figure that has been used as a metaphor for scientific overreach and risky technologies. In their view, this is not a novel about the dangers of technology, but rather a reminder that it is evidently important not to abandon our creations to the world, but instead to participate "in the discourse and deliberation about how it is taken up and integrated into its social contexts" (Halpern, Sadowski, Eschrich, Finn, & Guston, 2016). Care thus requires a cultural shift, that moves beyond and rejects easy-fix mentality.…”

“…Extended participation also aims at opening up problem framings. By allowing a diverse set of actors to contribute to the discussions about the problems that need to be tackled, participatory science might be able to create "objects of care" (Halpern et al, 2016) and direct attention to "matters of concern" (Latour, 2004), as opposed to matters of fact. This is a means to distinguish, as discussed in Chapter 9, the legitimate concerns of policy makers who support the circular economy, from the sometimes illegitimate knowledge claims that are made about the potential of the circular economy.…”

Exploring Responsible Research and Innovation in Museums Through Hands‐on Activities

“…The struggles of Victor Frankenstein and his creature still resonate 200 years after the publication of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (Shelley, 2018). The characters and key themes of the Frankenstein story are familiar, especially the fatal consequences of prioritizing personal ambition and scientific discovery over responsibility and ethics (Halpern et al., 2016; Hitchcock, 2007; Lederer, 2002). The emerging technologies of today—from artificial intelligence to genetic engineering—raise the same questions and dilemmas that came to Shelley's mind as she considered experiments with electricity and biology of her time (Guston et al., 2017).…”

Datafictions: or how measurements and predictive analytics rule imagined future worlds

“…For a more detailed discussion of Frankenstein and the significance of care, seeHalpern et al [2016]. For an analysis of collective imaginations and practices of responsibility in collaborative knowledge production,Völker [2020, forthcoming].https://doi.org/10.22323/2.19010202 JCOM 19(01)(2020)A02 14…”