Vanderbilt University

Upcoming Events & Deadlines

Public Engagement Contest

Submission Deadline: EXTENDED to April 22, 2019, 11:59PM EST

This contest is to recognize ongoing or prospective science engagement by partner university STEM graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff that is focused on (or explicitly inclusive of) religious publics.

Eligible submissions must include:
    - Short essay describing the engagement activity
    - Support letter from collaborating community representative
    - Engagement product (finished or in progress)

Applicants must participate in a DoSER workshop in order to be eligible. Workshops will be offered at each partner university. A digital version of the workshop will also be available (forthcoming).

Prize:
Up to four awards of $1,000 each per campus. 

Read the full rules, submission instructions, and other information here.

See creative science engagement examples here.

Professional Development Workshop: Science Communication and Engagement with Religious Publics

March 20, 2019, 9:00am - 12:00pm CT
Student Life Center, Room 140
Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN)

About the Workshop

Are you involved in public science engagement, or thinking about it? Are you interested in promoting dialogue about science with a broader spectrum of individuals and communities? Are you concerned about effectively navigating potential tensions at the intersections of science, culture, and faith in your classroom, your laboratory, on social media, in policy discussions, or in public settings?

The Science Communication and Engagement with Religious Publics workshop is a collaboration between the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) program and the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology, both situated within the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). It is intended as a professional development opportunity for students, communicators, educators, scientists and other professionals in STEM fields.

AAAS facilitators will lead participants through an overview of why it is important to consider religious cultures and identities in science communication engagement and present some strategies and best practices for effective and inclusive dialogue about science and society. The workshop will include moderated discussions and a small-group exercise to respond to a challenging question or scenario with peers. While the focus of the workshop is on dialogue with religious publics, the content is relevant and applicable to effective science education and communication with a broad range of audiences.

Participants will:

1. REVIEW key fundamentals for science communication and engagement;
2. LEARN why dialogue with religious/spiritual publics is an important dimension to consider in effective and inclusive public science engagement;
3. DISCUSS potential difficulties in engagement with religious publics on science issues;
4. UNDERSTAND social science perspectives on science communication and faith;
5. APPLY approaches for effective engagement on challenging questions or topics.

The DoSER workshop will be offered at six universities around the US in 2019 as part of the Engaging Scientists in the Science and Religion Dialogue project.

Contact DoSER@aaas.org for more information.

Event: Being Human: the Nexus of Science and Spirituality

Free and open to the public

March 19 - March 20, 2019

Join AAAS and Vanderbilt University for a keynote and panel discussion focused on the nexus of science and spirituality. 

Keynote Address: Exploring Who We Are: Public Engagement on Human Evolution

March 19, 2019, 4:00 - 5:30 pm
Student Life Center, Ballrooms A&B
Reception to follow

Panel Discussion: Where Science and Spirituality Meet

March 20, 2019, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Student Life Center, Ballrooms
Reception to follow