MU Life Sciences and Society Program
The unique mission of the Life Sciences & Society Program is to bring together researchers from across disciplines and schools in order to develop innovative, multidisciplinary approaches to the fields of inquiry that lie at the junctures of the life sciences and culture. Our areas of study encompass investigations of the historical, cultural, ethical, and economic contexts and impacts of the life sciences, as well as explorations of society itself that draw on the methodologies of the life sciences.
An Experiment on a Bird in an Airpump, Joseph Wright, 1768; National Gallery, London, England
Today’s society is facing profound ethical, legal, economic, and policy questions related to many aspects of the life sciences, including food production, new biotechnologies, medicine, the environment, and even the very definition of the human. The complex ways in which the life sciences are embedded within culture present challenges to both scientists and non-scientists who wish to reach a deeper understanding of the cultural commitments and impacts of science, or to promote the responsible application of scientific developments. It is the goal of the Life Sciences & Society Program to meet this challenge by facilitating the development of novel, synergistic methodologies. The program promotes the cultivation of connections between the logic and languages of the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We are committed enhancing research, teaching, and community involvement through productive dialogues that stretch across colleges and beyond the border of the academy.
Upcoming Events
Evoblitz
Feb 10, 2012 11:00 AM, 171 LSC
EVO host Shakti Lamba (Evolution of large-scale cooperation in humans) and Don Burke
EVO Talk
Feb 10, 2012 3:00 PM, 106 Pickard
Shakti Lamba
Juried Show: Food: Fact or Fiction
Feb 14, 2012 12:00 AM,
In the current social environment food is a hot topic. Organic, Non-GMO, local, sustainable, processed, preserved are all words we hear often. Local artists take on the challenge of this food topic.
A multi-person panel will choose 30 pieces for display.
Details can be found at www.perlow-stevensgallery.com/news.
EvoDiscussion
Mar 01, 2012 1:00 PM, 171 LSC
Levels of Selection
Film: Mostly Martha
Mar 02, 2012 7:00 PM, 106, Pickard Hall
(dir. Sandra Nettelback, 2001, 105 mins)Martha (Martina Gedeck) is the chef of a popular Hamburg eatery who fusses and obsesses over each dish before it leaves the kitchen. The demands of her job and her natural shyness keep her from breaking out of her routine to meet new people. When her sister suddenly dies in a car accident, Martha adopts Lina, her eight-year-old niece. Martha's life soon completely changes -- not only must she adjust herself to new parental role, but she must help Lina deal with her grief over the loss of her mother.
Food Revolutions: How Science Changed the Way We Eat, 1550-1950.
Mar 06, 2012 12:00 AM,
University of Missouri Libraries Exhibit, Ellis Library.
Speaker Ingolf Gruen, Program and Undergraduate Advisor Chair of Food Science; Interim Director of Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology; Associate Professor of Food Chemistry.
Opening lecture of MU Libraries Exhibit, Food Revolutions: How Science Changed the Way We Eat, 1550-1950. March 6, 2:00pm
Ragtag Film Series
Mar 14, 2012 5:30 PM,
Free screening with discussion led by LuAnne Roth, English Department.
Tampopo
(dir. Juzo Itami, 1985, 114 min).
This off-beat comedy follows two truck drivers, Goro and Gun who help chef Tampopo set up the perfect fast-food noodle restaurant ??? a ramen western rather than a spaghetti western. "Tampopo" is one of those utterly original movies that seems to exist in no known category??? it's a bemused meditation on human nature in which one humorous situation flows into another offhandedly, as if life were a series of smiles,??? Roger Ebert.
Nutrition and Exercise Physiology Research Week Poster Session in conjunction with Food Sense
Mar 15, 2012 2:00 PM,
Students will submit and present posters related to Nutrition and Exercise Physiology Research Week and the 2012 symposium, Food Sense.
EvoDiscussion
Mar 22, 2012 1:00 PM, 171 LSC
Nature vs. Nurture
EvoDiscussion
Mar 23, 2012 11:00 AM,
Discussion of evolutionary topics
Evoblitz
Apr 13, 2012 11:00 AM, 572 LSC
Gar Allen
Evo & Science Studies Talk
Apr 13, 2012 3:00 PM, TBA
Gar Allen
Videos of the talks from the 2011 LSSP Symposium, Ethics & the Brain, are now available online
