This dissertation examines the debates and discourses surrounding the Korean Astronaut Program (KAP) using the concepts of sociotechnical imaginaries, sociotechnical vanguards, and the construction of expertise. Based on documentary analysis and oral interviews, this research considers KAP as an example of how the visions of sociotechnical vanguards conflict and their failure to construct a unified sociotechnical imaginary. Furthermore, it contends that the expertization of the Korean astronaut failed because of the public openness of KAP. KAP was proposed by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and run by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). These two sociotechnical vanguards, MOST and KARI, provided different visions to the Korean public sphere, which already ascribed to its own image of an astronaut. MOST imagined the future Korea as a science-loving nation in which especially the next generations would have a strong interest in science and technology. Thus, MOST defined KAP as a science popularizing program and the Korean astronaut as a science popularizer. However, imagining a better Korea with better science and technology, KARI defined KAP as a research program that would lead to human space flight technology and considered the Korean astronaut a space expert. However, in the Korean public sphere, the widely shared expectation was a better Korea with a Korean heroic astronaut, because having a hero similar to that in other countries could position Korea on par with other advanced countries. These three visions conflicted in Korean society during KAP, and none of them succeeded in becoming the dominant sociotechnical imaginary. This elicited severe criticism of KAP and the Korean astronaut. KAP was also a good example of expertization with public openness. Credibility is the most important part of modern scientific practice. Without credibility, scientific experts cannot exercise their authority. Credibility rests on social markers such as academic degrees, track records, and institutional affiliation. However, these social markers are not suddenly assigned to an expert, who spends much time and effort attaining them. Rather, experts are made in a continuous process of improvement. Therefore, this research focuses on the process through which a person becomes an expert in emerging science and proposes the new terminology: expertization. Usually, the expertization process is hidden behind a public image. People do not know how experts obtain social markers, despite believing that these verify expertise. However, when the expertization process open to the public, it could be easily destroyed. KARI tried to position the Korean astronaut as a space expert. The first Korean astronaut did not become an expert overnight, but emerged as such to the Korean public through a selection process, training, and spaceflight. However, unlike other expertization, all steps comprising KAP were broadcast, and the expertization of Dr. Soyeon Yi, the first Korean astronaut, was open to the public. Consequently, her expertise was questioned each time the public found an element that did not satisfy their expectations. This research also clarifies the meaning of gender in emerging science. Dr. Soyeon Yi became the first Korean astronaut before any Korean male. In this way, KAP provided an important meaning to women in science, especially in the field of emerging science, which is usually dominated by males. Through these discussions, this research expands the application of sociotechnical imaginary and expert studies. It also enhances understanding of these discourses in Korean society, and stimulates discussions of the negative consequences of research programs. / Doctor of Philosophy / In April 2008, the first Korean Astronaut, Dr. Soyeon Yi, was launched to the International Space Station. The Korean nation welcomed their astronaut and believed this marked Korea's entry into the space age. However, before long, this aspiration changed to severe criticism. This research analyzes the Korean Astronaut Program (KAP) from its proposal to after its spaceflight in terms of its reception by Korean society. The Korean Astronaut Program was proposed by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to overcome the science and engineering crisis in 2004. As such, MOST defined KAP as a science-popularization program and the Korean astronaut as a science popularizer. However, as the first human space program in Korea, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), who ran KAP, considered it a research program to achieve human spaceflight technology and the Korean astronaut a space expert. These two different understandings were communicated to the Korean public sphere. However, the Korean pubic already had its own image of the "heroic" astronaut based on other countries' space programs and popular culture. The public thought that having an astronaut would position the country on par with other countries. Because the visions of MOST, KARI, and the Korean public differed, KAP could not satisfy the expectations of all three actors. In addition, the process through which Dr. Yi became the first Korean astronaut was opened to the Korean public. Consequently, when the public found an element that did not satisfy their expectations, they doubted Dr. Yi as a space expert, bringing about severe criticism of KAP and the concept of the Korean astronaut.

Ce mémoire traite des représentations du vivant portées par l’imaginaire sociotechnique de la biologie de synthèse. Domaine technoscientifique en pleine expansion, elle a comme objectif de fabriquer des entités biologiques détenant une application commerciale. En plus de ses visées économiques, les promoteurs de la biologie de synthèse annoncent qu’elle constitue une solution aux enjeux engendrés par la crise écologique. Ce type de promesse étant moins étudié par la sociologie des sciences et des technologies, ce présent mémoire fera lumière sur cet enjeu. Je montrerai que la biologie de synthèse s’inscrit dans le modèle bioéconomique qui implique une mise en ressource à large échelle globale des processus biologiques. L’imaginaire de la biologie de synthèse reconduit ainsi une double promesse : poursuivre le modèle de développement industriel tout en évacuant les limites écologiques qui s’y posent. Avec une analyse des discours médiatiques et publicitaires relatifs aux promesses écologiques de la biologie de synthèse, je démontrerai que son imaginaire s’appuie sur une représentation machinique et informationnelle du vivant. Par le fait même, cette analyse montrera que la volonté de mettre les processus biologiques en ressource se décline elle-même en deux tendances. D’une part, le vivant est posé dans les termes d’une matière première inerte et malléable. D’autre part, il est représenté comme une entité active qui peut être mise au travail. L’imaginaire de la biologie de synthèse relève donc d’une radicalisation de la volonté d’englober les processus biologiques dans la production industrielle. Les promesses écologiques de ce domaine apparaissent subordonnées à cette visée. / This thesis focuses on the representations of the living carried by the sociotechnical imaginary of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is a fast-growing technoscientific field whose main objective is to manufacture biological entities with commercial applications. In addition to its economic aims, promoters of synthetic biology claim that it represents a solution to the challenges posed by the ecological crisis facing contemporary societies. As this type of promise is less studied by the sociology of science and technology, this thesis will shed light on this issue. I will show that synthetic biology is part of the bioeconomy, which proposes the large-scale transformation of biological processes into valuable resources. The imaginary of synthetic biology thus makes a double promise : to continue the industrial development model while bypassing its ecological limits. Through an analysis of media and advertising discourse relating to the ecological promises of synthetic biology, I will demonstrate that its imaginary underpins a machine-like, informational representation of living matter. Furthermore, this analysis will show that the desire to turn biological processes into resources underlies two trends. On the one hand, living matter is posited in terms of an inert, malleable raw material. On the other, it is represented as an active entity that can be put to work. The sociotechnical imaginary of synthetic biology thus reflects a radicalization of the desire to incorporate biological processes into industrial production. The ecological promises of this field appear subordinate to this aim.