Dr. Heidi Grasswick from Middlebury University was a speaker as part of the 2014-2015 philosophy colloquium series. The topic of her lecture was Scientists as Experts: Understanding Trustworthiness Across Communities, where she discussed the conditions for scientists’ trustworthiness, distrust in scientific communities sometimes evident in socially marginalized groups, and some suggestions around how scientific communities might improve their trustworthiness across varying social groups.
Dr. Grasswick’s research areas center around feminist epistemology, social epistemology, and most recently is focused around trust between scientific and lay communities, and responsibilities around sharing of knowledge.
Carla Fehr and Heather Douglas presented What are the Problems with Science, Values and Democracy? at the Science and Society Conference, University of Ottawa. The symposium itself aimed to address the key issues around science, technology, society, and policy. Dr. Fehr and Dr. Douglas highlighted the importance of rejecting the notion that science can be value-free, the adoption of ‘organized skepticism’, and the importance of ‘surfacing’ values and interests within scientific research.
Dr. Carla Fehr was one of the featured speakers at the University of Western Ontario conference on 21st Century Feminism in the Academy. The conference explored the contemporary challenges of engaging issues around feminism and diversity. Dr. Fehr’s talk was on Excellent Science: of the People, by the People, for the People.
The Second Annual Science and Technology in Society Day celebrated International Women’s Day with a truly stellar event, featuring one of the foremost scientists in the world. It was held at the Perimeter Institute and brought students from both the University of Waterloo and Laurier together to discuss the role of women in science.
Professor Carla Fehr discusses the importance of gender equity and diversity in science and technology for promoting excellence in research.
“Research communities that are diverse and run on democratic principles simply do better science…Diversity in scientific communities also helps ensure the work meets the broader needs of society and public welfare”
Science, Technology, and Society in collaboration with the UW Philosophy Department held a lecture by Dr. Nancy Tuana, where she talked about Coupled Ethical-Epistemic Issues in the Climate Sciences. Dr. Tuana is a philosopher of science, feminist studies theorist, and the founding director of Penn State’s Rock Ethics Institute and DuPont/Class of 1949 Professor of Philosophy, Science, Technology, and Society, and Women’s Studies.