Just Rest: How Rest Can Transform Ourselves and Our Society

AAAS DoSER Annual December Dialogues
Washington, DC & Virtual

At this year’s meeting, titled “Just Rest: How Rest Can Transform Ourselves and Our Society,” we will consider rest and relaxation not only in terms of personal benefit, but also how sleep and rest are viewed in society and how they can improve health and further social justice.

The event is free and open to the public, both in-person (COVID guidelines permitting) and streamed online, but pre-registration is required.  The 90-minute event will include a round of short reflections from panelists, a moderated discussion, and Q&A with the audience. It will be followed by a reception for in-person attendees.

The code of conduct for AAAS meetings is here: https://meetings.aaas.org/policies/. 

Speakers: 

Dom Chatterjee, Editor, Rest for Resistance

Dom Chatterjee (they/he) is a community organizer, communications professional, and yoga teacher of Tamil-Bengali-Dutch descent. They are the founder of Rest for Resistance and co-founder of QTPoC Meditation, both of which create healing resources by and for queer and trans people of color (QTPoC). Dom currently studies at Union Theological Seminary in the M.A. Social Justice program and serves on the Board of Governors for the Editorial Freelancers Association.

Dr. Dayna Johnson, Assistant Professor, Emory University

Dr. Dayna A. Johnson, PhD, MPH, MSW, MS is a sleep epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University in Atlanta GA. She received her doctorate degree in Epidemiologic Science from the University of Michigan and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her research is aimed at understanding the determinants and health consequences of sleep health disparities by 1) addressing the social and environmental determinants of sleep disorders and insufficient sleep; and 2) investigating the influence of modifiable factors such as sleep disorders and disturbances on various health outcomes. More specifically, Dr. Johnson’s research quantifies the contribution of social, household-level and neighborhood-level factors with objective and well-validated subjective measures of insufficient sleep using data from different epidemiologic cohort studies. She is also engaged in community partnerships to investigate the effect of environmental exposures and housing on health. Dr. Johnson has over 95 peer reviewed publications. She has been featured in several magazines, podcasts and news programs including CBS for her expertise in sleep inequities, sleep health and sleep disorders. Her mission is to increase awareness around the importance of sleep and eliminate sleep health inequities.

Judith Shulevitz, Author, The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time

Judith Shulevitz is a critic and contributing writer to The Atlantic. She is the author of The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time (2010). She was the founding culture editor of Slate and a founding editor of the late, lamented Lingua Franca, and has been a columnist at The New York Times Book Review, Slate, The New Republic, and New York Magazine. Her essays have appeared in countless other publications, including The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine. She is currently writing a book for the Yale Jewish Lives series. You can find some of her recent essays here: https://linktr.ee/judithshul. 

Moderator:

Rachel Kline, Program Associate, AAAS DoSER

Rachel Kline is a Program Associate for the Engaging Scientists project at AAAS DoSER. She earned her undergraduate degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT and her Master’s in Pharmacology from Boston University. She worked in project management for nearly a decade at both nonprofits and commercial companies, managing numerous projects for clients in government, healthcare, and industry. Rachel joined AAAS in 2017 as Assistant Editor for the journal Science Robotics.