Abstract

The Introduction locates the individual chapters in the broader history of ethnography. It discusses how the reflections about power in ethnography developed initially within anthropology as a consequence of the historical process of decolonisation. Such reflections, however, focused on cases in which ethnographers hold more power and prestige than the ethnographees and, therefore, apply only partially to the study of STEM and biomedicine, in which ethnographers tend to hold less prestige. However, the more recent development of ethnography beyond anthropology and the ‘studying up’ approach offer insights into how to conceptualise power relations in the ethnographies of STEM and biomedicine. The Introduction further uses the reflections of ethnography beyond a single, delimited and physical site to discuss how the ethnography of STEM and biomedicine can be applied to laboratories and hospitals, but also to wider fields that go beyond specific buildings and can be articulated in multiple sites. Finally, the Introduction introduces the contributions to the book, articulated in chapters about Positionalities, Collaborations, and Domination and Access to the Field.