Celebrating slow science is more necessary than ever before: academics are stressed out by publication pressure, increasing teaching loads and the obligation to apply for research grants in competitions with less than 10% success chance. But slow science is more than a cure for a university system in crisis. It also raises the important point that the rhythm of science is fundamentally different from other, ‘faster’ cultures such as politics and business. The increasing pressure from politics regarding science does not respect academic autonomy and, more fundamentally, mixes different ‘speeds’. As Dutch sociologist Dick Pels famously framed it: “What we do require is a novel arrangement of time and space that promises a reflexive deceleration of action and the clearing of a ‘calm space’ where time may flow more relaxedly, topics may be studied one at a time, conversation can be conducted in a more leisured and egalitarian fashion, and pressing decisions may be postponed” (D. Pels, Unhastening Science. Autonomy and reflexivity in the Social Theory of Knowledge, 2003, p. 180)
What
NIAS is hosting an all new public opening of the academic year 2019/2020 at the Trippenhuis, home of The Royal Netherlands Academy of the Arts and Sciences (KNAW). During this event we herald the opening of the new academic year with speeches by KNAW President Wim van Saarloos and NIAS Rector Jan Willem Duyvendak about slow science, introductions by our new fellows and a Q&A with co-sponsor L’Oréal-UNESCO of the For Woman in Science Fellowship and an alumnus.
When & where
4 September 2019, 15:00 – 17:00
Trippenhuis – KNAW, Kloveniersburgwal 29, Amsterdam (please note the location has been changed)
Admission is free but registration required
About NIAS-KNAW
The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences – one of the institutes of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) – provides a physical and intellectual space for advanced research in the humanities and social sciences that is driven by curiosity and cross-discipline collaboration.