“Diversity Creates Science – Science Creates Diversity. Societal Challenges in Focus of Gender and Diversity Studies in STEM” Lecture Series to Launch this 2023/2024 Winter Semester

How do societal power structures influence STEM fields like biology, physics, mathematics, computer science, and technology that are typically perceived as being apolitical? What concepts exist for promoting diversity in science? These questions and many more will be addressed in a public lecture series to be launched on October 20, 2023, by the Open Lecture Halls at Freie Universität Berlin. Researchers will be presenting analyses of gender and diversity research with regard to biology, physics, mathematics, computer science, and technology and exploring different perspectives concerning diversity in science. They will use a number of case studies to explain how power relations in society impact STEM fields.

The internationally acclaimed historian of science and gender researcher Professor Londa Schiebinger from Stanford University (US) will open the “Societal Challenges in Focus of Gender and Diversity Studies in STEM” lecture series with a keynote titled “Gendered Innovations: Enhancing Excellence in Science & Technology” on Friday, October 20, 2023, at 4:15 p.m.

The interdisciplinary lecture series is being hosted by the Department of Physics, the Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, and the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. The lectures, which form part of the Open Lecture Halls program for the 2023/2024 winter semester at Freie Universität Berlin, will take place on Thursdays between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. at Arnimallee 22, 14195 Berlin. The lecture series is being organized by Professor Martina Erlemann, Dr. Sarah Huch, Dr. Tanja Kubes, Professor Petra Lucht, Dr. Anina Mischau, and Sera-Renée Zentiks.

Interested parties are welcome to attend the lectures on-site or to watch the livestream. Entry is free of charge and prior registration is not required.

Time, Location, and Lecture Topics:

• Keynote on Friday, October 20, 2023, at 4:15 p.m. in lecture hall 1B of the building complex at Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin. Nearest subway stations: Dahlem-Dorf or Freie Universität/Thielplatz on the U3 line.
• All other lectures will take place on Thursdays at 4:15 p.m. from October 26, 2023, in lecture hall B at the Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy on Arnimallee 22, 14195. The nearest subway station is Dahlem-Dorf on the U3 line.

Scheduled Lectures:

• October 20, 2023, Professor Londa Schiebinger (Stanford University, US): “Gendered Innovations: Enhancing Excellence in Science & Technology”
• October 26, 2023, Dr. Corinna Bath (formerly of Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany): “Intersectional Gender Studies on Artificial Intelligence: The History of AI – Ongoing Discrimination – Livable and Desirable Futures” (in German)
• November 2, 2023, Professor Kerstin Palm (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany), “Biological Embodiments of Social Difference – Intersectionality Studies in the Life Sciences” (in German)
• November 16, 2023, Dr. Pauline Gagnon (formerly of Indiana University, US): “What’s Wrong With Me? Diversity and Discrimination in Science”
• November 23, 2023, Dr. Lilith Rüschenpöhler (University of Education Ludwigsburg, Germany): “Postcolonial Perspectives in Science Education” (in German)
• November 30, 2023, Professor Maria Rentetzi (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany): “‘To Weak Discouraged Men’: Gender and Radium in the Early 20th Century US”
• December 7, 2023, Professor Jarita Holbrook (University of Edinburgh, UK): “Intersectional Issues of Astrophysicists”
• December 14, 2023, Professor Tanja Tajmel (Concordia University, Montréal, Canada): “Discourses on Diversity in STEM” (in German)
• January 11, 2024, Professor Arne Dittmer (University of Regensburg, Germany): “Diversity, Variance, and Prototypes. Diversity from the Perspective of the Biology Classroom” (in German)
• January 18, 2024, Dr. Sarah Hackfort (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany): “Feminist Perspectives on the High-Tech Bioeconomy” (in German)
• January 25, 2024, Dr. Anna Ransiek (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany): “Does Gender Still Matter? Perspectives of Gatekeepers and Early-Career Researchers in a Mathematical Cluster of Excellence with Regard to Academic Careers” (in German)
• February 1, 2024, Dr. Florian C. Klenk (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany): “On the Path towards a Gender- and Diversity-Reflexive Pedagogy in Computer Engineering” (in German)
• February 8, 2024, Lara Gildehaus (University of Klagenfurt, Austria): “Math for the Majority – Insights into Gender and Diversity Studies in Mathematics from a Science Education Perspective” (in German)
• December 15, 2024: Panel discussion: “Societal Challenges in Focus of Gender and Diversity Studies in STEM. How Should We Proceed?”