By Karen Hunt, Office of Research
PULLMAN, Wash. – The role feminism plays in addressing the gaps in established science will be discussed at the next Science Pub talk, hosted by Washington State University’s Entrepreneurial Faculty Ambassadors and the Palouse Discovery Science Center.
The talk titled, “Doing Better Science through the Other ‘F’ Word” will take place 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, at Paradise Creek Brewery in downtown Pullman.
Amy Mazur, a Claudius O. and Mary W. Johnson Distinguished Professor in political science at WSU and an associate researcher at the Centre d’Etudes Européennes at Sciences Po, Paris, and Samantha Noll, assistant professor in The School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, will map out the different feminist approaches that are used in current research. In addition to discussing the gaps in established scientific practices, they will present one specific area of feminist political science that has an integrative, comparative feminist agenda.
“Feminism in today’s `me too’ world often conjures up images of war of the sexes and man hating. For us, two feminist scientists whose work is situated in the social sciences and the humanities, the notion of feminism provides a fundamental starting point to make science more scientific,” said Mazur. “Taking a feminist approach to research also has the promise of making science more meaningful and better suited to solve today’s wicked problems.”
Mazur’s research, publications and teaching interests focus on comparative feminist policy issues with a particular emphasis on France. She is currently co-convening the Gender Equality Policy in Practice Network, a 100-member research group studying whether gender equality policy works in post industrial democracies. Mazur has received research grants from the National Science Foundation, the European Science Foundation, the French Ministry of Social Affairs and the Norwegian National Science Foundation. She also has been an expert for the United Nations and has been consulted by the European Union, the World Bank, and the Obama Administration.
Noll’s research and teaching focuses on applying tools coming out of philosophy of science to questions that arise in agriculture. In particular, she publishes widely on topics such as how values impact consumer update of agricultural products, local food movements, and the application of genomics technology. Noll contributes to the fields of bioethics, philosophy of food, and environmental philosophy.
Science Pubs was established to share science and research expertise at WSU with the local community. The partnership between WSU’s Entrepreneurial Faculty Ambassadors (EFA) and the Palouse Discovery Science Center also is intended to strengthen ties between university researchers and the public at large.
A donation of $5 is suggested, but not required to attend. All proceeds will go to support the Palouse Discovery Science Center. Paradise Creek Brewery is located at 245 S.E. Paradise St., in Pullman.
