Institutions of higher learning are environments where new ideas, insights, and discoveries are cultivated. Here is where unexplored territory provides the space for curiosity to grow, for rigorous enquiry to nurture understanding, for innovation to reach new heights. It’s where professors and students conduct extensive research in the constant pursuit of knowledge, truth, and justice. Unfortunately, it’s also where targeted attacks occur by those who feel threatened by this important work and the impact it has on society.
Why is this happening and what can we do about it? The University of Waterloo aims to answer these questions in a new speaker series entitled “Antagonism and Intimidation in Academia” (Fall 2023 – Winter 2024) that will conclude with an international conference. These events are organized jointly by the Faculty of Arts and the Office of Research.
The speaker series involve talks by members of the University of Waterloo academic community on the broad subject of antagonistic and intimidating responses to academic research and pedagogy. Scholars in many fields have experienced hostile responses to their work, such as those whose emphasis is on social justice scholarship that focuses on discrimination based on gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and religion; science and technology research; health and vaccine research; and environment, sustainability, and climate change research. Aggressors aim to silence the individual researcher and attack those advocating certain scholarly ideas through various hostile actions, including cyberbullying, disruption of public presentations, personal threats, and in the worst-case scenario, physical violence.
Join us as we discuss these important topics by registering below for upcoming events.
We invite you to attend the second panel discussion of the series, “Antagonistic Responses to Science and Technology in the Academy.” Panel presentations will explore several important topics such as opposition to science and technology solutions for sustainable agriculture; what it means to be a public-facing healthcare expert during the pandemic; the anxieties and antagonisms surrounding automated artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, including generative AI; and challenging encounters characterizing the relations inside and outside the science classroom, and ways of promoting inclusivity. There will be time for audience members to engage in a question-and-answer period following the panel presentations. A reception will follow.
Date: 29 November 2023
Time: 3:00-4:15pm; Reception 4:20-5:00pm
Location: Enterprise Theatre, EC5, Room 1111, 305 Phillip St., Waterloo
Event Details: In-person and online
Lead Organizer and Chair: Suzan Ilcan, Special Advisor on Interdisciplinary Research (Professor & University Research Chair, Sociology and Legal Studies)
Moderator: Kirsten Müller, Professor and Chair, Biology
Dr. Trevor C. Charles is Professor of Biology, Founder of the company Metagenom Bio, Executive Director of the LiftOff Black Entrepreneurship Program, and Director of Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research.
Dr. Lai-Tze Fan is a Canada Research Chair in Technology and Social Change, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies. She leads the Unseen-AI Lab.
Dr. Kelly Grindrod is an Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy. Dr. Grindrod was a public-facing expert on COVID vaccination and treatment during the pandemic.
Dr. Maura R. Grossman is a Research Professor in the School of Computer Science and the School of Public Health Sciences, an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, and an affiliate faculty member at the Vector Institute of Artificial Intelligence.
We will explore several important topics such as responding to silence arising from gendered harassment and workplace threats of violence; unpacking the public silencing of expertise when Black women engage in anti-racist work; countering the view that teaching about structural inequalities and social injustices is “ideological,” rather than empirically-based; and emphasizing the merits of inclusivity in the classroom and creating learning environments of respect even where differences prevail. There will be time for audience members to engage in a question-and-answer period following the panel presentations.
Date: 24 October 2023
Time: 3:00-4:15pm
Location: Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC) – 0101
Event Details: In-person and online
Lead Organizer and Chair: Suzan Ilcan, Special Advisor on Interdisciplinary Research (Professor & University Research Chair, Sociology and Legal Studies)
Moderator: Seçil Dağtaş, Associate Professor, Anthropology
Dr. Carla Fehr, Associate Professor & Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy, Philosophy
Dr. Laura Mae Lindo, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Dr. Logan MacDonald, Assistant Professor & Canada Research Chair of Indigenous Art, Fine Arts
Dr. Rashmee Singh, Associate Professor, Sociology and Legal Studies
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.
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