Speakers:
Richard Levins
A Conversation with Richard Levins
How can scientists contribute to a better world while working within institutional constraints?
Richard Levins is an ecologist, activist, mathematical biologist and philosopher of science. He was a farmer, labor organizer and pioneer of the environmental movement in Puerto Rico, investigated birth defects caused by defoliants in Vietnam. He founded Science for Vietnam, is a member of Cuban Academy of Science, wrote Evolution in Changing Environments and with R. Lewontin coauthored The Dialectical Biologist and Biology Under the Influence. He was a key member of Science for the People in the 70s and 80s.
About MIT Science for the People
We are interested in the structure and social implications of scientific research. For instance, how has funding from the military affected the research agenda at places like MIT? Why is relatively little money allocated nationally for climate change research? Why are there such disparities - in race, gender, and socioeconomic class - in the training and promotion of scientific researchers? By asking such questions, we aim to examine science’s role as a social institution and the scientist’s as a member of society. Our goal is work towards a science that is more diverse, socially engaged, and democratic.
We are inspired by the original “Science for the People” (SftP), a group of scientist-activists who were active at MIT, Harvard, and around the country in the 1970s and 1980s. The problems that the original group was grappling with - war, racism, ecological catastrophe, etc.- still remain with us. We are part of a broader, national effort to revitalize SftP.
This is the first open meeting of the MIT SftP student group. We welcome students, faculty, and staff to join us to think about these issues and develop steps to address them. Pizza provided.
