fractured natures:

disrupting the divides between “Science” & “Society”

Download the event pdf here.

Submission Deadline: Extended to March 14, 2014

Scientific work is often understood to be something separate from social, artistic, or cultural influence. Increasingly, interdisciplinary inquiry and activism pushes us to reconsider these perceived divisions. The 2014 Science & Society Undergraduate Research Symposium focuses on the social, the political, and the “scientific” (medical, technological, and beyond), proposing that these disciplinary boundaries are not so easy to identify and distinguish in the first place. When we fracture natures, we break open conceptions of “science” and “society” in order to consider who and what is at stake within scientific discoveries, histories, and discourses.

We invite undergraduate work from a variety of academic concentrations, including but not limited to history of art, history of science, gender and women’s studies, ethnic studies, lgbtq studies, anthropology, comparative literature, English, philosophy, geography, integrative biology, and more. Our task is to think critically about the world, the facts, and the things that surround us. In exploring the fractured and splintered spaces within and between “science” and “society” we might imagine new futures and possibilities for these categories in and of themselves.

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Submission Guidelines

Abstracts Due: March 14, 2014

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The symposium welcomes critical papers, poetry, film, multimedia projects, and experimental forms.

Those interested in applying should email a one-page (600 word) abstract of their proposed paper to cstms.undergradconf@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 14th. In the text of your email, include your name, year, and department(s). The abstract itself should be a Word document or a pdf. Accepted applicants will be contacted within one week after the deadline.

Students may present on a topic/thesis of their choice. Submissions may include and are not limited to: a chapter from an honor’s thesis, an original research paper, a visual art installation, a musical/sonic composition, a choreographed performance.

Presentations will be 15 minutes, so papers should not be more than 10 pages – (a fifteen-minute paper, read aloud, is equivalent to a 7 pages, double spaced paper). Students will be organized thematically onto panels to field questions and discussions following their presentations. Any applicant with a project requiring more than 15 minutes (such as a film) may still be considered if their abstract expresses a strong understanding of our theme and guidelines.

Although this year’s event has different parameters than last year’s undergraduate event (see guidelines below), it may still be helpful to look at examples of past work. To read abstracts from last year’s conference, click here.

Abstracts will be judged on:

• Interdisciplinarity

How are the categories of “science” and “society” addressed? “How do social, political, and cultural values affect scientific research, medicine, and technological innovation and how do these, in turn, affect society, politics, and culture?” *

*Question informed by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s definition of Science and Technology Studies.

• Investment in social justice

Research or artwork explore the intersections of science, medicine, and/or technology with factors such as, but not limited to: race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, or historical, and social contexts.

• Coherence/clarity of ideas

Is the work well-organized? Is there a clear topic? Can the topic be explored? Can the artwork be presented effectively in a 15-minute presentation?

• Originality

Does the student treat their topic with creativity and originality that is reasonable for an undergraduate-level project or beyond?

Questions, concerns, submissions: cstms.undergradconf@gmail.com

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