Faculty Research Networks

Supported in part by the Offices of the President and Provost, the goal of the Faculty Research Networks is to build a structure through which Stanford scholars from related, but often separate, fields can establish networks to pursue coordinated research and training. Scholars in the humanities and social sciences can collaboratively apply their theoretical knowledge to the systematic study of important social issues. The program promotes an interdisciplinary approach to the comparative study of complex problems found in such vital social institutions as schools, the workplace, and courts. In addition, this initiative provides an opportunity for participants to consider the interplay between theoretical scholarship and applied practice.

The Faculty Research Networks recruit scholars interested in working on a problem area for an extended period. Each of the Research Institute’s networks addresses a distinct set of social, moral, and intellectual problems, the explorations of which are important to the successful functioning of our democratic society.

• How Do Identities Matter?

Over the past few years, a growing number of scholars in the humanities and social sciences have come together in a variety of forums to discuss the way in which identities still matter, both inside and outside the academy. Working within an academic climate that is often unreceptive to the claim that "identity" constitutes a sophisticated area of intellectual inquiry, these scholars seek to examine identities in all their complexity, even as they indicate how identities crucially affect the ways in which scholarly work is judged both within and across disciplines. Postmodernist deconstructions of such key concepts as identity, experience, and knowledge, which initially proved theoretically productive in the humanities, have not translated into a transformation of social relations. Moreover, the indiscriminate critique of all forms of identity politics by several schools of thought on the academic left has colluded with the cynical promotion of a "color-blind" society by right-wing pundits intent on obscuring the difference that differences make.

In this graduate student/faculty workshop, we hope to move beyond both deconstruction and dismissal, embarking on a careful reconstruction and examination of the importance of identity to a range of issues that continue to affect our diverse society. The workshop organizers are Paula Moya and Ulka Anjaria.

For more information about this research network jointly sponsored by the Stanford Humanities Center:
http://identities.stanford.edu

• The Meanings and Practices of Diversity

Hazel Markus (psychology) heads the network examining the collective representations of multiculturalism and difference to examine the political, sociological, cultural, and historical factors shaping the public discourse around diversity. What does it mean to have a diverse school or society? What are the criteria of an effective diverse setting? What are some exemplary diverse settings or societies and why?

• Revisiting Race and Ethnicity in the Context of Emerging Genetic Research

This inter-disciplinary workshop will focus on the "genetic turn" in scholarship on human genetic variation and its implications for the study of "race" and ethnicity. Thus far scholars in the humanities and social scientists have given little attention to the rapid growth in the development of "high-throughput" technologies for genetic analysis, a technical change that has led to achievements such as the completion of the human genome sequence. Human genetic variation research -- focused on differences across human populations -- has emerged as a major trajectory in the scientific study of health and disease. Consideration of the implications of this emerging research for our understanding of the category of "race" has been minimal. Scholars have expressed a sense of urgency in addressing the potential social consequences of such research. As a forum for inter-disciplinary dialogue, this workshop will offer a unique opportunity of bringing together faculty and graduate students concerned with the nature of human difference. The workshop will include speakers and participants from a range of disciplines, including Genetics, History, Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Psychology, Anthropology and Sociology. Barbara Koenig and Sandra Lee are the faculty organizers.

To find out more information about the networks contact Dorothy M. Steele, Executive Director of CCSRE at dmsteele@stanford.edu or (650) 723-2244.