Challenging science's autonomy : the "critique des sciences" in France

This article examines the emergence, development, and demise of the ‘critique des sciences' in France in the aftermath of May 1968. Initially, the critique of science in France was inspired and influenced by other radical science movements abroad. The critique of science and technology led to counter-expertise and the questioning of hierarchies and inequalities in the scientific institution. Ephemeral political journals appeared during this period, in which scientists, engineers and technicians published articles about ecology, feminism, and the power of ‘Mandarins' in the scientific laboratory, for example.

In France, the movement evolved in a singular way during the 1970s and 1980s since it disappeared slowly. The French critique of science was pursued in the 1980s in the field of popularization and expertise. Considerations about the role of science in society also converged with the renewal of the study of science in academic disciplines. I suggest that the understanding of the critique of science in France requires that we consider the political context of the 1970s, and the relationships between the critique of science and the disciplines dedicated to the analysis of science and technology. [Publisher's text]