Latin American papers in STS mainstream journals: themes, theoretical perspectives and methods

A previous study considering 12 mainstream STS journals over the last decade (2010-2019) reported 282 papers published by Latin Americans (Invernizzi et al, 2021, to be published). Despite Latin America's early reflections on STS over the 60s and 70s, and the growing institutionalization of the field from the nineties on, the international visibility of STS studies produced in the region is still low. As the literature on academic science evaluation suggests, to publish in global, English-written, mainstream journals, authors from peripheral regions need to engage with themes of global interest (often to the detriment of local issues), and with discussions, theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches developed by researchers in the leading, Euro-North American scientific centers (Giménez Toledo, 2018; Hicks, 2006; Kreimer, 2015; Vessuri et al., 2014). Does this claim apply to STS scholarship? In line with 4S theme “Good Relations: Practices and Methods in Unequal and Uncertain Worlds.”, and following previous discussions on transnationalizing STS, in this presentation, I explore this question by examining these 282 publications to assess the subjects, theories, and methodologies that Latin American authors share with the STS global community in mainstream journals. The study combines qualitative (content analysis of abstracts) and quantitative (scientometric analysis of keywords and references) methods.