The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general science society and publisher of the highly respected journal Science, is convening its annual meeting this weekend in Vancouver. Over 8,000 scientists, social scientists, journalists and other interested individuals have converged to explore everything from ‘acid-washed genes’ to the intersection of art and sustainability.
An emerging theme is the perceived primacy of scientific or material definitions of pressing social problems, and the need to seek varied sources of credibility, modes of expression, and forms of knowledge. This theme is present in the Friday session entitled ‘Science, sustainability, and the arts,’ chaired by Prof. Thomas Dietz and moderated by Prof. John Robinson. In this session, Joe Zammit-Lucia explores the richness of meaning that art and philosophy might inject into the environmental movement, employing the tools of narrative and imagery to allow an organic and nuanced understanding of sustainability challenges to emerge.
David Maggs, an accomplished classical pianist, arts organizer, and UBC PhD candidate argues that the traditional fact/value dichotomy is irrelevant in the context of the ‘anthropocene.’ David suggests that the arts are not simply a communicative tool that can translate science to a larger audience, but rather is a way of knowing something new. To paraphrase David, art can initiate a set of conditions that alters our relationship with the climate, rather than explicitly teaching us more about the climate or making us feel worse about climate change. This theme was carried over into an afternoon panel and discussion session featuring Profs. Stephen Sheppard, John Robinson, Mike Hulme and Richard Moss in which we explored creative ways to more deeply engage with the arts and humanities and visualize climate change.
As the AAAS comes to a close, the lingering messages appear to be less focused on technical experimentation or scientific discovery than on the politics of ‘muzzling’ Canadian scientists, the value-laden and interdisciplinary challenges of climate change, and the need for a coordinated, innovative community of scholarship.