Events

The Science & Justice Research Center convenes and sponsors a wide range of events on and off UC Santa Cruz campus. All of these events have in common a shared concern for justice, pushing beyond conventional models of ethics toward more aspirational questions about the collective responsibilities of science and engineering. Science & Justice events are atypically transdisciplinary compared to most academic venues. It is not uncommon to have audience members from varying backgrounds including genomics, physics, digital art, philosophy, environmental studies, feminist studies, sociology, and more. Rather than present a completed piece of intellectual work, we typically invite speakers to share an interesting ‘object’—whether a case study, anecdote, or an actual physical object. Provocations and unresolved research questions often receive the best responses. We aspire to keep jargon to a bare minimum.

SJWG Genomic Open

The Science & Justice Working Group gathers for its 2015 “Genomic Open” event

Several times each year, SJRC convenes meetings of the Science & Justice Working Group (SJWG), which bring together scientists, engineers, social scientists, humanists, and artists to discuss and share stories around matters of common concern. These meetings often provide the seeds for future meetings and supported grant-funded projects.

In addition to Working Group meetings, the Center also hosts several informal events each term. These include visiting scholar roundtables, project meetings, workshops, and experimental mixers (formerly known as “cocktail hours”), reading and writing groups, and quarterly meet-and-greets.

We welcome proposals for collaboratively developed programming from any member of the campus community to host an event, a reading group in support of a formal event, workshop a paper or conference presentation, group work on a project, or present personal research. All events should aim at being accessible to and fruitful for our diverse and interdisciplinary audiences.

Find out about our upcoming events, take a look at some of our past events, or suggest a new event.

You can also find out more about conceptualizing, organizing, and planning formal and informal events, or contact one of our current reading groups and research clusters.