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University Communications

Harvard Professor to Open Speaker Series at University of Richmond

August 2, 2005

Evelynn M. Hammonds, professor of the history of science and Afro-American studies at Harvard University, will open the 2005–06 WILL/WGSS speaker series at the University of Richmond Sept. 15.

Her lecture on “The Return of Biological Race: Science and Politics in the 21st Century” will begin at 7 p.m. in the Alice Haynes Room on the lower level of Tyler Haynes Commons. The event is free and open to the public.

Hammonds chaired a Harvard task force charged with making recommendations to promote gender diversity in faculty ranks and academic leadership positions across the university. It was one of two task forces established by Harvard president Lawrence Summers following his controversial remarks in January that women might not have the same “intrinsic aptitude” as men in some fields, such as math and science.

She will discuss historical scientific debates on race and their connection to broader debates about the relation between biology and society in America.

Hammonds’ talk is the first of four events in the series, sponsored by Richmond’s Women Involved in Living and Learning (WILL) and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) programs. The series’ theme is “Whose Science? Whose Knowledge? Science, Power and Social Identity.” All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact WILL at (804) 289-8578 or will@richmond.edu.

In addition to Hammonds, this year’s series will include:

  • Evelyn Fox Keller, professor of the history and philosophy of science at MIT. She will speak on “Innate Confusions: Nature, Nurture and All of That” Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. in North Court Reception Room.
  • Nancy Tuana of the University of Oregon’s philosophy department. She will speak on “The Speculum of Science: Knowledge and Ignorance in the Field of Women’s Bodies,” Feb. 9 at 4 p.m. in Weinstein Hall, Brown-Alley Room.
  • Sandra Harding, professor of social sciences and comparative education at UCLA and director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Women. She will discuss “Women, Science and Democracy” April 6 at 4 p.m. in Weinstein Hall, Brown-Alley Room.