Maruša Gorišek: Science and society: Are we able to use knowledge for the benefit of society?
The American Slovenian Educational Foundation, in collaboration with SocioKlub, is organizing a popular science lecture on Thursday, February 29, at 5 p.m. The lecture will be held by Dr. Maruša Gorišek, ASEF Junior Fellow 2021, a research associate at the Institute for Development and Strategic Analysis and Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Information Studies in Novo mesto. The lecture is entitled “Science and society: Are we able to use knowledge for the benefit of society?” and will be held at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana (Kardeljeva ploščad 5, 1000 Ljubljana).
REGISTRATION
To attend the lecture, please register by February 29, no later than 4 p.m.
ABOUT THE LECTURE
Although we live in an era of exceptionally rapid technological and scientific progress, recent experiences in coping with crises such as pandemics and global warming raise the question: are we capable of harnessing all this generated knowledge for the wider benefit of society when needed? This lecture will address the complex relationships between science, policy and the wider public. We will explore to what extent we as a society really value and promote knowledge, whether it is a good idea to leave political decision-making to experts and scientists, and how to address the gap between scientists and lay people. We will discuss whether more trust in science is enough to tackle these challenges, or whether science itself bears part of the responsibility.
ABOUT THE LECTURER
Maruša Gorišek holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and a PhD in Sociology. She is an assistant at the Institute for Social Morphogenesis at the Faculty of Information Studies in Novo mesto and a research associate at the Institute for Development and Strategic Analysis in Ljubljana. There she is a member of the programme group Sociocultural and organisational aspects of knowledge and technology transfer. Her research interests include the concept of meritocracy, the role of knowledge, science and experts in society, and the concept of citizen science. She is a member of the National Committee of the Management of Social Change (MOST) Programme of the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO. She is a part of the 2021 generation of ASEF Junior Fellows, and she conducted her research visit with Prof. Peter Verovšek at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
ASEF YOUNG MINDS
ASEF Young Minds is a series of popular science lectures, which encourages young people to present their research work and experience gained within the framework of the ASEF fellowship program in a way that is accessible and understandable to the general public. In the project, ASEF connects with local organizations that operate in the places where the lecturers come from. The aim of cooperation is to connect and integrate young learners into the local Slovenian environment.
ASEF connects and unites Slovenian scientists and academics all over the world.
SocioKlub is a student sociological society at the Faculty of Social Sciences. The main aim of the club is to bring together students of sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences and all those who are interested in this science. Our activities include the organization of various events and projects, such as panel discussions, excursions and various thematic workshops, intending to promote critical thinking and broaden horizons in the field of social sciences, both within and outside the formal education system.
The project is supported by the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Youth and the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad.
