{"id":7510,"date":"2016-05-09T08:57:17","date_gmt":"2016-05-09T12:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=7510"},"modified":"2023-12-06T16:52:34","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T20:52:34","slug":"thinktank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/thinktank\/","title":{"rendered":"Life\u2019s Imperative: Social Justice in Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Social<\/a>A seed\u2014call it science-and-social-justice<\/em>\u2014has been germinating in the mind of Regina Stevens-Truss<\/strong> since December of 2009. In truth, Stevens-Truss (the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry) has been thinking on that matter long before then. But the occasion of that December seven years ago\u2014a faculty workshop sponsored by the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership<\/strong><\/a> (ACSJL) on the topic of incorporating social justice into the undergraduate curriculum\u2014and a conversation at the event with Harvard University professor Jonathan Beckwith (well known for uniting social justice and science in his science courses) gave Stevens-Truss a language for her thinking.<\/p>\n

That small seed has come to fruition in several ways over the years, most recently (in a very big way) with the April 2016 Science and Social Justice Think Tank (SSJTT), which gathered from across the country some 60 experts and advocates for social justice consideration in the conduct of research and science education.<\/p>\n

The SSJTT, like so many previous fruitions, was sponsored by the ACSJL. \u201cIt is so vital to have the social justice center here,\u201d says Stevens-Truss. On the issue of science and social justice, as with so many others, the center provides \u201ca language, a name, if you will, a platform for what needs to be done, and the national reach to do it,\u201d says Stevens-Truss. Language, platform, reach. \u201cThe social justice center is indispensable.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Stevens-Truss, in recent years scientists and science educators have improved in the area of science and ethics. Both groups have become better at considering and carefully answering questions like: am I doing research (or teaching research protocols) in a way that respects the human rights of research subjects as well as the integrity of the scientific process? Comparatively, science has been less effective in its consideration of social justice matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must become better at framing and answering social justice questions,\u201d says Steven-Truss. Is the research we are considering good for society? Who will benefit? Will different communities benefit disproportionately? Will there be adverse burdens to bear and, if so, who or what communities are most likely to bear those burdens?<\/p>\n

\"Social<\/a>A similar battery of social justice questions for science educators certainly includes this one: What course content is required to ensure that students from various backgrounds see themselves as stakeholders in science to a degree that is sufficient to keep them involved in the discipline?<\/p>\n

That last question inspired at least one living ancestor of April\u2019s SSJTT. In 2011 Stevens-Truss, Beckwith and Lisa Brock<\/strong>, academic director of ACSJL and associate professor of history, began collecting the syllabi of science courses that integrate social justice. Two K undergraduate students and a Harvard graduate student searched colleges and universities across the country and compiled the various ways science professors fit social justice into the academic content of their courses. The trio made these ideas available as a resource to all on science and social justice website<\/strong>, part of ACSJL\u2019s Praxis<\/strong> project.<\/p>\n

Work on the SSJTT soon followed. Eliza Jane Reilly, deputy executive director of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement; Karen Winkfield, radiation oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and Anne Dueweke<\/strong>, director of faculty grants and institutional research at K, joined Stevens-Truss, Beckwith and Brock to form a planning committee. Senior Shannon Haupt<\/strong>, an environmental activist and anthropology and sociology major, served as project assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to gather professors, scholars, scientists, public health and environmental leaders working where science and social justice intersect,\u201d says Brock. \u201cWe also sought experts on diversity in the STEM fields and people thinking about changes underway in society and science.\u201d<\/p>\n

SSJTT participants engaged with three questions: What benefits will accrue when social justice is included in undergraduate, graduate and medical school science courses? What are specific strategies for integrating social justice issues into scientific research? What disciplinary and institution reforms will most effectively advance social-justice-in-science nationally?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to train the next generation in a way that these questions are second nature,\u201d says Stevens-Truss. Particularly gratifying for her was the liberal arts diversity of the SSJTT\u2019s presenters and participants. Attendees included researchers, science professors, policy makers, lawyers, journalists, writers and philanthropists.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur evening keynote speakers were a writer [and English professor Debra Marquart, \u201cOwning Our Future: A Poet\u2019s Response to Extraction\u201d] and a visual artist [Mary Beth Heffernan, \u201cEbola, Culture and Social Justice Through the Lens of a Photographer\u201d],\u201d says Stevens-Truss.<\/p>\n

Such diversity matters a great deal, she added, because social justice connects to art, poetry, the social sciences and the hard sciences, a fact with \u201cdeep implications for how we teach and practice science.\u201d The committee is currently tackling how to extend the SSJTT\u2019s momentum. The Praxis Center will help. And the language, platform and reach of the ACSJL will be critical.<\/p>\n

Stevens-Truss has long been an activist, albeit (perhaps) without the sobriquet. Her work on campus with Sukuma, locally with Sisters in Science, and nationally in a program that connects practicing scientists and middle school teachers comprise distinct expressions of her preoccupation with matters of social justice and science. And now, through the Praxis Center and programs like the SSJTT, the cause and (yes!) its activists have a growing magnitude and unity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs scientists and educators we must help each other see our impact on people,\u201d says Stevens-Truss, \u201cand on communities. Especially the marginalized people and communities who often are the most adversely affected by our choices in boardrooms, laboratories, classrooms and scientific funding committees.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A seed\u2014call it science-and-social-justice\u2014has been germinating in the mind of Regina Stevens-Truss since December of 2009. In truth, Stevens-Truss (the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry) has been thinking on that matter long before then. But the occasion of that December seven years ago\u2014a faculty workshop sponsored by the Arcus Center for Social Justice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[53,52,50,39,24,20],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-7510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-staff","tag-biochemistry","tag-biology","tag-chemistry","tag-faculty","tag-sciences","tag-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"\r\nLife\u2019s Imperative: Social Justice in Science - News and Events<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A seed\u2014call it science-and-social-justice\u2014has been germinating in the mind of Regina Stevens-Truss since December of 2009. 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aria-label=\"archive of category Faculty & Staff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/faculty-staff\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Faculty & Staff<\/a>","tags_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/biochemistry\/\" rel=\"tag\">biochemistry<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/biology\/\" rel=\"tag\">biology<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/chemistry\/\" rel=\"tag\">chemistry<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/faculty\/\" rel=\"tag\">faculty<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/sciences\/\" rel=\"tag\">sciences<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/social-justice\/\" rel=\"tag\">social justice<\/a>","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/thinktank\/\" class=\"pl-facebook-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/thinktank\/\" class=\"pl-twiiter-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/thinktank\/\" class=\"pl-linkedin-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a>","wordExcerpt_info":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2016\/05\/cienceSocialJustice3.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-7516\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7516 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2016\/05\/cienceSocialJustice3.jpg\" alt=\"Social Justice Conference Audience\" width=\"600\" height=\"269\" \/><\/a>A seed\u2014call it<em> science-and-social-justice<\/em>\u2014has been germinating in the mind of <strong>Regina Stevens-Truss<\/strong> since December of 2009. In truth, Stevens-Truss (the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry) has been thinking on that matter long before then. But the occasion of that December seven years ago\u2014a faculty workshop sponsored by the<a href=\"https:\/\/reason.kzoo.edu\/csjl\/\"><strong> Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership<\/strong><\/a> (ACSJL) on the topic of incorporating social justice into the undergraduate curriculum\u2014and a conversation at the event with Harvard University professor Jonathan Beckwith (well known for uniting social justice and science in his science courses) gave Stevens-Truss a language for her thinking.<\/p>\n<p>That small seed has come to fruition in several ways over the years, most recently (in a very big way) with the April 2016 Science and Social Justice Think Tank (SSJTT), which gathered from across the country some 60 experts and advocates for social justice consideration in the conduct of research and science education.<\/p>\n<p>The SSJTT, like so many previous fruitions, was sponsored by the ACSJL. \u201cIt is so vital to have the social justice center here,\u201d says Stevens-Truss. On the issue of science and social justice, as with so many others, the center provides \u201ca language, a name, if you will, a platform for what needs to be done, and the national reach to do it,\u201d says Stevens-Truss. Language, platform, reach. \u201cThe social justice center is indispensable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Stevens-Truss, in recent years scientists and science educators have improved in the area of science and ethics. Both groups have become better at considering and carefully answering questions like: am I doing research (or teaching research protocols) in a way that respects the human rights of research subjects as well as the integrity of the scientific process? Comparatively, science has been less effective in its consideration of social justice matters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must become better at framing and answering social justice questions,\u201d says Steven-Truss. Is the research we are considering good for society? Who will benefit? Will different communities benefit disproportionately? Will there be adverse burdens to bear and, if so, who or what communities are most likely to bear those burdens?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2016\/05\/cienceJustice2.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-7512\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-7512 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2016\/05\/cienceJustice2.jpg\" alt=\"Social Justice Conference Participants\" width=\"350\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a>A similar battery of social justice questions for science educators certainly includes this one: What course content is required to ensure that students from various backgrounds see themselves as stakeholders in science to a degree that is sufficient to keep them involved in the discipline?<\/p>\n<p>That last question inspired at least one living ancestor of April\u2019s SSJTT. In 2011 Stevens-Truss, Beckwith and <strong>Lisa Brock<\/strong>, academic director of ACSJL and associate professor of history, began collecting the syllabi of science courses that integrate social justice. Two K undergraduate students and a Harvard graduate student searched colleges and universities across the country and compiled the various ways science professors fit social justice into the academic content of their courses. The trio made these ideas available as a resource to all on <strong>science and social justice website<\/strong>, part of ACSJL\u2019s <strong>Praxis<\/strong> project.<\/p>\n<p>Work on the SSJTT soon followed. Eliza Jane Reilly, deputy executive director of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement; Karen Winkfield, radiation oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and <strong>Anne Dueweke<\/strong>, director of faculty grants and institutional research at K, joined Stevens-Truss, Beckwith and Brock to form a planning committee. Senior <strong>Shannon Haupt<\/strong>, an environmental activist and anthropology and sociology major, served as project assistant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to gather professors, scholars, scientists, public health and environmental leaders working where science and social justice intersect,\u201d says Brock. \u201cWe also sought experts on diversity in the STEM fields and people thinking about changes underway in society and science.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>SSJTT participants engaged with three questions: What benefits will accrue when social justice is included in undergraduate, graduate and medical school science courses? What are specific strategies for integrating social justice issues into scientific research? What disciplinary and institution reforms will most effectively advance social-justice-in-science nationally?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to train the next generation in a way that these questions are second nature,\u201d says Stevens-Truss. Particularly gratifying for her was the liberal arts diversity of the SSJTT\u2019s presenters and participants. Attendees included researchers, science professors, policy makers, lawyers, journalists, writers and philanthropists.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur evening keynote speakers were a writer [and English professor Debra Marquart, \u201cOwning Our Future: A Poet\u2019s Response to Extraction\u201d] and a visual artist [Mary Beth Heffernan, \u201cEbola, Culture and Social Justice Through the Lens of a Photographer\u201d],\u201d says Stevens-Truss.<\/p>\n<p>Such diversity matters a great deal, she added, because social justice connects to art, poetry, the social sciences and the hard sciences, a fact with \u201cdeep implications for how we teach and practice science.\u201d The committee is currently tackling how to extend the SSJTT\u2019s momentum. The Praxis Center will help. And the language, platform and reach of the ACSJL will be critical.<\/p>\n<p>Stevens-Truss has long been an activist, albeit (perhaps) without the sobriquet. Her work on campus with Sukuma, locally with Sisters in Science, and nationally in a program that connects practicing scientists and middle school teachers comprise distinct expressions of her preoccupation with matters of social justice and science. And now, through the Praxis Center and programs like the SSJTT, the cause and (yes!) its activists have a growing magnitude and unity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs scientists and educators we must help each other see our impact on people,\u201d says Stevens-Truss, \u201cand on communities. Especially the marginalized people and communities who often are the most adversely affected by our choices in boardrooms, laboratories, classrooms and scientific funding committees.\u201d<\/p>\n","comment_info":"No Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7510"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21303,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7510\/revisions\/21303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7510"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=7510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}