[Sci-tech-public] Evelyn Fox Keller to Speak on Innate Differences at the Radcliffe Institute, Apr. 7

[Debbie Meinbresse]

>Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:30:27 -0500
>To: all-hs at fas.harvard.edu, events-hs at fas.harvard.edu
>From: HSDept <hsdept at fas.harvard.edu>


>>>SAVE THE DATE     SAVE THE DATE     SAVE THE DATE     SAVE THE 
>>>DATE     SAVE THE DATE
>>>
>>>The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
>>>at Harvard University presents
>>>
>>>
>>>INNATE CONFUSIONS: Nature, Nurture, and All of That
>>>
>>>Evelyn Fox Keller
>>>Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science
>>>Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>>>2004-2005 Radcliffe Institute fellow
>>>
>>>
>>>Thursday, April 7, 2005
>>>4:30 p.m.
>>>Askwith Lecture Hall
>>>Longfellow Hall
>>>Appian Way
>>>Cambridge, MA
>>>
>>>
>>>The idea that there is a meaningful difference between innate and 
>>>acquired characteristics--that is, between nature and nurture--is so 
>>>widespread that it has become an established concept in popular culture. 
>>>Scientists have even suggested that this distinction is itself innate, a 
>>>dichotomous way of looking at ourselves that is programmed into the 
>>>human genetic code. But when researchers assert this inherent 
>>>distinction, are they speaking as scientists or as ordinary folk, caught 
>>>up in their own preconceptions of what it means to be human? Questions 
>>>about innate and acquired characteristics, about nature and nurture, are 
>>>not only highly charged but also, Keller will argue, subject to such 
>>>intrinsic confusion that it may not be possible to answer or even 
>>>address them scientifically.
>>>
>>>Evelyn Fox Keller received her PhD in theoretical physics at Harvard 
>>>University, worked for a number of years at the interface of physics and 
>>>biology, and is now professor of the history and philosophy of science 
>>>in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at MIT. She is the 
>>>author of many articles and books, including A Feeling for the Organism: 
>>>The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock; Reflections on Gender and 
>>>Science; Secrets of Life, Secrets of Death: Essays on Language, Gender 
>>>and Science; Refiguring Life: Metaphors of Twentieth-Century Biology; 
>>>The Century of the Gene; and Making Sense of Life: Explaining Biological 
>>>Development with Models, Metaphors, and Machines.
>>>
>>>
>>>For further information, please visit www.radcliffe.edu or call 
>>>617-495-8600.  This event is free and open to the public.
>>>
>>>
>>>This is the final lecture in the 2004-2005 Dean's Lecture Series.
>>>
>>>
>>>The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University is a 
>>>scholarly community where individuals pursue advanced work across a wide 
>>>range of academic disciplines, professions, and creative arts. Within 
>>>this broad purpose, the Institute sustains a continuing commitment to 
>>>the study of women, gender, and society.
>_______________________________________________
>events-hs mailing list
>events-hs at lists.fas.harvard.edu
>http://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/events-hs

Debbie Meinbresse
STS Program, MIT
617-253-4062 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/sci-tech-public/attachments/20050317/d680c9c0/attachment.htm