We want to thank Riana Betzler for her excellent talk, “The Problem of Isolating and Measuring Empathy”, last Friday in the Philosophy Department. Dr. Betzler is a professor at San José State University studying the philosophy of science and ethics. We also enjoyed her company as a "local expert" at Dr. Serife Tekin's Book Manuscript Workshop at the Spigner House. Betzler, now an AJI veteran, attended the AJI's inaugural Writer's Retreat hosted at the Ampersand Inn last June. We are proud to be a part of bringing scholars together in a collegial and connected environment where science and technology studies thrive.

We want to thank Dr. Kathryn Luchok for donating a collection of books belonging to her husband and professor at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Chris Toumey. Professor Toumey was a beloved scholar at our university, whose work as an anthropologist focused on nanotechnology. He was a dear friend of the AJI, and we miss having him join our monthly HoSTE reading group. Professor Toumey was an active member in those gatherings and championed the work of the AJI. He would be pleased to know his books ended up in our growing library. Keeping his books on hand for future scholars is also a testament to his important contributions to his field and our community.

We wanted to extend a special thank you to Professor Serife Tekin, as well as the visiting expert reviewers, Dr. Rachel Ankeny, Dr. Miriam Solomon, and Dr. Daniel Kelly for participating in the book manuscript workshop that we hosted on Monday, the 19th of February. Tekin's book, Reclaiming the Self in Psychiatry: Centering Personal Narratives for a Humanist Science, aims to offer a model for which we can better center the philosophical concept of the self within psychiatry. We are happy to be a part of the writing process and are excited to read the published book!

The first annual Ann Johnson Institute Writer’s Retreat was a roaring success. In a bucolic setting complete with a pool and local state park, our scholars completed a host of projects, from book manuscripts to research articles. Attendees said the collegiality and support they found during the retreat enriched their experience. One reported that the week was a “rare and extraordinary opportunity to think more broadly and creatively about my work,” noting that it helped her create “a community of kind and smart scholars I plan to continue to connect with into the future.”  We hope you come back to our  to apply for the 2024 cohort. 

The Ann Johnson Institute for Science, Technology and Society is excited to announce the 2023/2024 Book Manuscript Workshop authors.

Congratulations to our authors-- this promises to be an exciting and fascinating season.

Dr. Serife Tekin

 Reclaiming the Self in Psychiatry: Centering Personal Narratives for a Humanist Science

Dr. Cassius Adair

The Transgender Internet. [Hosted at the Computer History Museum]

Dr. Elaine LaFay

 At the Tropics Brink: Climates of Disease and Empire in the Nineteenth Century U.S. Gulf South

 

March 13, 2023

Special Location: the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California

On March 13, 2023, the AJI and the Computer History Museum will co-host their first Book Manuscript workshop for Dr. Sarah Appelhans, on Precarity on the Bleeding Edge: Navigating Gender and Immigration Status in Semiconductor Engineering.

Dr. Appelhans is an anthropologist and postdoctoral research assistant at Bucknell University. She is currently the resident social scientist in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department at Bucknell, exploring how to teach undergraduate engineers to work on complex

sociotechnical problems in interdisciplinary teams. Her book investigates the intersections of gender, race/ethnicity, and immigration status in the high-velocity semiconductor industry.

We look forward to a fruitful partnership with the Computer History Museum’s David Brock, a historian of technology, the museum’s Director of Curatorial Affairs, and an AJI Board Member. We expect a rich conversation combined with the excitement of working in a new setting. We hope attendees will sneak in a visit to the CHM while they are onsite.

March 16-18, 2023

The &HSP, or the organization for Integrated History and Philosophy of Science, will take place at the University of South Carolina in the spring of 2023. Hosted by the Ann Johnson Institute, we look forward to welcoming keynote speakers Alisa Bokulich from Boston University and Gregory Radick from the University of Leeds. We expect to welcome scholars from various countries and around the United States. For more information about this conference, please visit the conference website.

The Ann Johnson Institute will sponsor a panel and bring in scholars from London and the United States to share their insights. Institute co-director Leah McClimans will present in this group. For more details, check back in early 2023.

March  27, 2023

Location: Spigner House

On March 27, 2023, the AJI welcomes Drs. Record and Miller for a book manuscript workshop on Inter‐Knowledge: Trust, Information, and Belief in a Digital Age. 

Dr. Record is a Professor of Teaching in History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science at Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University. His research seeks to situate our epistemic and ethical circumstances within a network of values, capabilities, and material and social technologies. Dr. Miller is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Management Information Systems, Zefat Academic College. He works in the philosophy of science and technology and social epistemology.

We are excited to welcome them to campus and look forward to another enriching and lively discussion.

Book Manuscript Workshop for Rachel Ankeny's project In Defense of Medical Cases, information forthcoming.

Professor Rachel A. Ankeny is an interdisciplinary teacher and scholar whose areas of expertise cross three fields: history/philosophy of science particularly biological and biomedical sciences, bioethics and science policy, and food studies. She is an Honorary Visiting Professor in the College of Social Science and International Studies (Philosophy) at the University of Exeter (UK) and editor in chief of Studies in History & Philosophy of Science.

Diving into Math with Emmy Noether comes to the University of South Carolina! A theatre performance by portraittheater Vienna in co-operation with Freie Universität Berlin. Director: Sandra Schüddekopf, Actress: Anita Zieher. Sponsored by the Ann Johnson Institute. 
Preview the play on YouTube.

The AJI held a Book Manuscript Worship for Dr. Elizabeth Rodwell (Digital Media Information and Logistics Technology, Rice University). This workshop featured Dr. Roswell’s work Push the Button: Interactive Television and Collaborative Journalism in Japan. Push the Button explores the results of unprecedented access to the Japanese television industry and, based on 18 months of fieldwork among broadcast and print journalists, contributes to a mission within the fields of anthropology and communication studies to understand how creative professionals are adapting to ongoing technological change and obsolescence within their fields.  Dr. Shultz (Professor of Journalism, Department of Journalism, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) and Dr. Condry (Cultural Anthropologist and Director of MIT’s Spatial Sound Lab) presented as expert reviewers. For more on the author and expert reviewers, click on the links below.

Elizabeth Rodwell, Author.
Ian Condry, Expert.
Tanjev Shultz, Expert.
Alliston Marsh, AJI Co-Director.
Leah McClimans, AJI Co-Director

Thank you for joining us in April 2022 for our first AJI + Columbia event: Climate Ready Columbia. This event gathered folks from around the city and the region. While the conversation on climate change often focuses on national and state efforts, the conference spotlights local and municipal policy options. The conference included 14 expert panels as well as a keynote speech. Please visit the full event page for more information.

November 15, 2021:

The AJI held a Book Manuscript Workshop for Dr. Rosalind Donald (Rosenstiel School of Climate Risks & Preparedness, University of Miami). This workshop featured Dr. Donald’s work Greenlining: Environmental policies, Segregation, and Displacement in Miami from the New Deal to the Climate Crisis. Greenlining investigates the relationship between environmental policies and displacement in Miami-Dade, an area that is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and the second-most unequal in the United States. Dr. Andrew Ross (Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University) and Dr. Julie Sze (American Studies, UC- Davis) presented as expert reviewers. See links to the participants below with bios and further information.
Rosalind Donald, Author.
Andrew Ross, Expert.
Julie Sze, Expert.

The AJI held a Book Manuscript Workshop for Dr. Monica Barra (Anthropology, University of South Carolina). This workshop featured Dr. Barra's work Good Sediment: Race, Geology and the Politics of Land Loss which is an ethnography that considers the complicated ways scientists and residents conceptualize Louisiana's "losing a football field per hour" land loss crisis in the context of historic and contemporary race relations in southeast Louisiana. Dr. Jessica Cattelino (Anthropology, University of California - Los Angeles) and Dr. Amelia Moore (Marine Affairs, University of Rhode Island) presented as expert reviewers. For more on the author and expert presenters, click on the links below.
Monica Barra, Author.
Jessica Cattelino, Expert.
Amelia Moore, Expert.