Inter-college faculty Seminar in Humanities and Sciences, U. Massachusetts Boston

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Inter-college faculty Seminar in Humanities and Sciences (ISHS)

A forum for discussion and interaction among faculty at UMass-Boston. Faculty from different disciplines and colleges come together to focus on topics of common interest, exchange ideas, renew their intellectual energy, and advance their work in a spirit of adventure and collaboration.

At the core of ISHS activities is a semester-long faculty seminar, focused on a particular theme. Participation in the seminar, which meets every second week, is open to full and part-time faculty at all levels; the ethos is democratic and interactive. No single member is responsible for the full semester's activities; leadership of the seminar rotates, with participants taking it in turn to lead the discussion, and all contributing to a collective enterprise. The basis for discussion might be a set of readings (or images, or music), or a piece of writing or creative work by the presenter(s), or some combination. Where relevant we may use the internet as a resource: to provide readings or other material; to facilitate discussion; to set up an archive and maintain a work-in-progress forum.

For any ISHS seminar, participants should feel free to approach the topic in your own way, and as it relates to your own interests. What we are looking for is a group of people who would like to explore their own particular 'take' on the topic in the company of others; to enrich each other's perspectives; to deepen their own imagination and conception of the issues; and to see what results from a collaborative, interdisciplinary exercise. You don't have to be an expert; and you don't have to limit yourself to our suggestions. Ideally this will be work in progress for all, which will produce ideas we may not have anticipated.

Past themes

Spring 2004 -- Social uses of 'genetic' knowledge

This theme was designed to resonate with current concerns in many fields as well as to offer scope for a historical and philosophical discussion of attempts from well before the advent of modern genetics to find explanations in nature for inequalities in society.
Spring 2005 -- Disease and difference

What makes a difference in who becomes diseased -- what counts as disease and who takes responsibility for it? What changes over time can be seen and how do perspectives vary among cultures and social groups? How are different people organizing now to influence change and improvements in health?
Spring 2006 -- Sustainability, science, and social change

Fall 2006 -- Perspectives on/from the New Sciences of Complexity

Spring 2007 -- Placing science and technology in social context

Fall 2007 -- Who makes sense of developments in science and technology?
Spring 2008 -- Teaching across divides

Possible future themes

Minds, bodies, contexts: Diversity and change

How and why? Diverse understandings of cause

Futures past and present

Plans and crises, Action and reaction

Local knowledges and subaltern sciences

Race resurgent?

What don't we know, and why? (Paradigms, Priorities, Censorship, Secrecy, Futurology, etc.)
- additional suggestions welcome.

ISHS is organized by the Program in Science, Technology and Values. The seminar is closely based on a model developed successfully at UMass Amherst.

Last update 8 August 2008.