Short abstract

Reflecting on entering STS through environmental humanities and work beyond academia. I explore interdisciplinary translation, fieldwork with conservationists and scientists, and how STS reshapes how I do Env Hum and future career pathways.

Long abstract

This talk starts from a question I keep asking myself: am I actually doing STS?

I come from an interdisciplinary background, doing a PhD in environmental humanities, and my path into STS is neither linear nor planned. It grew out of past work experiences beyond academia and my current doctoral research, working with conservation workers and ecologists.

In these interdisciplinary collaborations, I often find myself in the middle of different ways of thinking and speaking. A big part of my work has become translating between disciplines, expectations, expressions, and things that are said but not meant to be published in certain disciplinary routes. Over time, I realise that these are not skills from a single program, but ones shaped by moving across academic spaces and my non-academic endeavours between degrees.

From this position, I reflect on what it means to "arrive" in STS through a non-linear route, and how I piece together my place in the field. I also think about the different forms of support that make this possible—supervisors, peers, and field collaborators.

Finally, I consider how STS has changed how I understand the environmental humanities (and vice versa), and how it is shaping how I may proceed in my career, such as the possibility of working more closely within scientific settings.