Thinking With Scientists | June 1-2, 2017

a workshop organized by graduate students affiliated with the UC Davis Science & Technology Studies Program

Please RSVP: http://bit.ly/2qjnZQp

 

THURSDAY JUNE 1

2:00–4:00pm (2203 SS&H, Andrews Conference Room)

Why and How to Study Multispecies Encounters

organized by Diana Pardo Pedraza, Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Studies, UC Davis

A writing workshop facilitated by Kara Wentworth (Postdoctoral Scholar, UC San Diego and Ph.D. in Communication and Science Studies).

 

FRIDAY JUNE 2

9:00–10:00am Breakfast (2203 SS&H, Andrews Conference Room)

 

10:00–11:30am  (2203 SS&H, Andrews Conference Room)

Thinking with Oceans and Climates

organized by Sofia Aida Rivera, Ph.D. student in Anthropology, UC Davis

Invited Thinkers: Tessa M. Hill (Associate Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory, UC Davis) in conversation with Stefan Helmreich (Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Description: This is a conversation between professor Stefan Helmreich (via Skype) and Tessa Hill. Dr. Helmreich’s research inquires into the ways biologists have thought about the limits of "life" as a category of analysis, and changing definitions of water and sound. His current project is on wave science. Dr. Hill’s lab utilizes the geochemistry of microfossils and corals to determine rates of climate change and the response and adaptation of species to it. In preparation for this conversation, Dr. Helmreich and Dr. Hill have shared some of their writing with each other and they have started a virtual conversation. During the workshop, they will help us to think of the opportunities and challenges involved in thinking and writing together. Participants in the workshop are encouraged to watch this short video and to read the short texts used by Dr. Helmreich and Dr. Hill.

Video: https://vimeo.com/181225323

Stefan Helmreich. 2010. "Human Nature at Sea"

"The West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science: Panel Major Findings, Recommendations, and Actions" (pages 4-5)

 

11:30–12:30pm Lunch (1246 SS&H, STS/CSIS Conference Room)

 

12:30–2:00pm (1246 SS&H, STS/CSIS Conference Room)

Thinking with Microbes and Humans

organized by Stephanie Maroney, Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Studies, UC Davis

Invited Thinkers: Hannah Landecker (Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics), David Coil (Project Scientist in the Eisen Lab, UC Davis, Ph.D. Biology).

Description: This session brings together members of the MicrobioSocial Collaborative, a UCHRI Multi-Campus Graduate Working Group to discuss their year-long exploration of human and microbial relations in a semi-structured discussion about the "threats and promises" of the microbiome based on their respective fields/training/interests. They will facilitate a conversation between Hannah Landecker and David Coil about what the microbiome is for an interdisciplinary group of thinkers, and what are its most compelling and alarming representations/applications/implications.

 

2:00–2:30pm Coffee/Tea Break (1246 SS&H, STS/CSIS Conference Room)

 

2:30–4:00pm (1246 SS&H, STS/CSIS Conference Room)

Thinking within Measurement

organized by Anne O’Connor, Ph.D. student in Cultural Studies, UC Davis

Invited Thinker: Alex Damianos (PhD candidate in the Law Department, London School of Economics).​

Description: At a moment where environments act on humans as much as humans have acted on environments, how can we rethink the claims made by our practices of measurement? In this workshop we’ll discuss the extension and stabilization of practices of measurement in geology and biotechnology regulation, asking: do methods constrain what is possible, or are they radically generative of new potentialities?

Suggested reading: John Law & Evelyn Ruppert (2013) The Social Life of Methods: Devices, Journal of Cultural Economy, 6:3, 229-240.

​This event is sponsored by the UC Davis Science & Technology Studies Program and the University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI).​