Social Science Research Council

Barnard College
New York, NY
Tuesday, June 13 - Friday, June 16, 2006

To register and submit abstracts, go to: http://applications.ssrc.org.

Conference Theme: “Praxis, Resilience and Engaged Scholarship”

In the last year, the world has experienced a mixture of both natural and social disasters, and we have witnessed unprecedented attacks on our communities and institutions. As young scientists and humanists, we have experienced growing scrutiny over what and how we teach as well as the public disparagement of scientific knowledge and other threats to intellectual freedoms. As citizens of the world, we have witnessed the devastating impact of natural disasters such as the earthquake in Pakistan and the hurricanes that destroyed the U.S. Gulf Coast have had on human beings. We have also noted that the effects of these disasters were borne disproportionately along gender, race, and class lines, and exacerbated by humanity's failure to value all lives equally. And as fighting persists in Iraq, billions of dollars continue to be drawn away from relief efforts and public spending. In these difficult times, we gather to break bread with friends and colleagues and strengthen our communities as a demonstration of resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. Like many before us, we speak of praxis because we recognize the importance of socially engaged scholarship that is created, in the words of Paulo Freire, through the “action and reflection of women and men upon their world in order to transform it.” Coming from diverse backgrounds and institutional locations, we are brought together amidst transformations in our professional, political, and personal surroundings. We believe that renewing our commitment to the principles and goals that bind us is necessary as we work to redefine our strategies and our allegiances as engaged intellectuals and citizens. More than ever, our work to diversify the academy and to strengthen our voices requires that we continue our pursuit of excellence. Our ability to imagine and bring better worlds into being is incumbent upon these efforts. We come together this year to reaffirm the Mellon Mays community—a community which belongs to us and to which we belong. We do so in order to forge, individually and collectively, a clearer vision of how we will make history in the years to come.