Epistemic cultures are akin to Star’s concept of “Social Worlds” or what she also refers to as “communities of practice.” Boundary objects mediate cooperative working relationships between members of different social worlds. Or, inversely, one could also say that the particularities of these relationships would also limit what would be able to “function” as an effective boundary object. In Star’s words, “the forms this may take are not arbitrary. They are essentially organic infrastructures that have arisen due to what Jim Griesemer and I called ‘‘information needs’’ in 1989. I would now add ‘‘information and work requirements,’’ as perceived locally and by groups who wish to cooperate” (Star 2010, 602).
Star also admits that the idea of “interpretive flexibility” was fundamental to the constructivist approach to science studies well before it was integrated into the concept of boundary objects. Though, at this point, the two are inextricably intertwined.
