No more Public Engagement blogs for a while
I've decided to discontinue my Public Engagement blogs, at least for a while, so I can devote more time and energy to other projects. Thanks for reading.
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I've decided to discontinue my Public Engagement blogs, at least for a while, so I can devote more time and energy to other projects. Thanks for reading.
Harold Shapiro, in his book A Larger Sense of Purpose (Princeton, 2005), makes the following challenging observations about science:
Although the cumulative accomplishments of science can hardly be overstated, we must acknowledge that they necessarily bring in their wake a series of problematic issues. It is doubtful, for example, that more science always leads to more social dividends, that the scientific agenda is always focused on the most important issues, that the norms of science are adequate to ensure public accountability, that the promise of science is always fulfilled, that science can take the measure of all things, or that new knowledge is neutral in its moral and practical consequences. Science is a social activity. Scientific activities cannot benefit everyone's interests at the same time, and they are inevitably influenced by ideologies and conflicts of interest. Indeed, some have gone so far as to suggest that science, like other activities and policies, simply serves those who profit from the existing social order. (p. 123)
None of this should be taken to mean that specific scientific results are socially contingent; but Shapiro's words should force scientists to acknowledge that the locus and support of their research, and the reception and use of their results, are strongly affected by social, ideological, political, and economic factors. This means that the interactions of academic scientists with their various publics---students, funders, peers outside of academe, government officials, and the public at large---have a more reciprocal character than might superficially be recognized.
Examples are not hard to come by. One that is currently pertinent is the growing interest in biofuels---especially corn---as a renewable source of energy that reduces our dependence on Middle East oil and promises new profits to corn-growing states. While such benefits should not be minimized, the accompanying costs, such as diversion of an important food source with accompanying rise in food costs, the limited ability of corn to substitute for more than a small fraction of petroleum usage, and the continued generation of greenhouse gases, should not be overlooked. Support for research on other energy alternatives, e.g., non-foodstock vegetation, nuclear and solar power, and conservation, could be deemphasized in universities located in states that stand to profit from corn-based biofuels.
There are no guarantees that this will, or won't, happen. But alertness to potential economic and political influences on research is an important part of engagement between universities and the broader society.
I've just returned from a month in India. I'll get back to blogging about standard Public Engagement topics soon, but first some reflections from the trip.
A renewed recognition of how much our research universities depend on Indian graduate students, especially in engineering and computer science. We met many college students on our trip, most of them anxious to come to the USA for further education. When we define public engagement as a reciprocal exchange of resources between universities and publics, we shouldn't forget bright, motivated students as a key public resource.
A sense of how powerful India and China, each with well over one billion inhabitants, will become as they modernize their educational and economic systems. We may only hope that their competition with "the West" and with each other will be basically peaceful; and that they can find ways to minimize environmental impacts as they enhance their standards of living.
A recognition of how important it is to find ways to keep people productive in the countryside, rather than having them flock to the cities where overcrowding and poverty are uncompensated by the intricate support systems of traditional village life. We see similar issues in the USA, as the viability of rural America is challenged. Perhaps nations can find ways of learning from each other, and perhaps universities could play a role in such exchange of knowledge and ideas.