Public engagement and participation revisited

Participation has been a keyword in STS research since its inception. We outline three main ways in which STS has approached participation and engagement, which have evolved over time but also co-exist. First, social studies of science have depicted science as a participatory practice but one that often excludes publics and society. Second, STS work has been invested in the development and extension of public participation methods, approaches and practices. Third, recent work has turned STS relational and co-productionist perspectives onto participation and engagement as objects of study and intervention themselves, opening up new possibilities for remaking participation.