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Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1999 05:39:02 -0500 (EST)
From: Michael Dorsey <[log in to unmask]>
To: Undisclosed recipients: ;
Subject: RV: "Biotech for Activists" course in January (fwd)
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> Please post widely:
>
> BIOTECHNOLOGY: Science, Politics and the Environment
> A five day intensive course for activists and scholars
>
>   January 7-11, 2000
>   On the campus of the
>   Institute for Social Ecology
>   in Plainfield, Vermont
>
> Description:
>
> New biotechnologies such as genetic engineering and the cloning of animals
> have
> profound and disturbing consequences for the future of our food, our
health,
> the environment, the future of agriculture and our society. Despite
increasing
> evidence of damaging environmental effects, and massive opposition in
Europe
> and south Asia, transnational biotechnology companies appear to be on a
> relentless drive to dominate our food supply.
>
> The patenting of genes by agrichemical and pharmaceutical companies has
> spurred
> aggressive bioprospecting that robs indigenous peoples and others
throughout
> the world of control over their traditional foods and medicines. The
global
> impact of biotechnology companies threatens to recast the entire
relationship
> between our communities and the natural world.
>
> Too often single issues and short term goals dominate the discussion of
> biotechnology in the U.S. We need a more radical and holistic critique of
the
> economic, political, and scientific institutions and practices that
constitute
> the biotechnology industry.
>
> This course is taught by faculty members of the Institute for Social
Ecology
> who are also activists in the growing anti-biotechnology movement. Over
the
> span of five days, the course will provide an in-depth exploration of the
> scientific, political, economic, and cultural dimensions of biotechnology.
> Students will attend three classes a day. Activist skill-building
workshops
> along with presentations by invited speakers will take place in the
evening.
>
> Three classes each day will cover the following topics:
>
> The Science of Biotechnology: This class will demystify biotechnology by
> providing a scientific basis for understanding genetic engineering. It
will
> also explore the environmental and health risks associated with current
> agricultural biotechnologies. Facilitated by Sonja Schmitz
>
> The Politics of Biotechnology: This class will identify and analyze the
key
> issues and products that constitute the contemporary controversy around
> genetic
> engineering. It will examine the history and politics of biotechnology and
the
> growing resistance in Europe, India, and the United States. Facilitated by
> Brian Tokar.
>
> The Culture of Biotechnology: This class will explore the broad social,
> political, and ethical consequences of biotechnology. It will situate the
> emergence of the biotechnology industry within the history of capitalist
> production, revealing biotechnology as a new 'flexible' form of production
for
> an informational age. Since biotechnology is often viewed as a
> transgression of
> nature, the bioethics surrounding this technology will be examined.
> Facilitated
> by Chaia Heller
>
> Faculty:
>
> Sonja Schmitz, M.A. in molecular biology, University of Maryland, formerly
> worked as a scientist in the agricultural biotechnology industry and is
> currently a Ph.D. candidate in Botany at the University of Vermont
> specializing
> in evolution and ecology. Her research on rare and endangered plants is
funded
> by the Audubon Society and the New England Botanical Club. She has been
> lecturing and advising at the ISE for four years.
>
> Brian Tokar, M.A. Biophysics, Harvard University, has been a peace,
> anti-nuclear, and environmental activist since the 1970s. He is the author
of
> Earth For Sale and The Green Alternative, and received a 1999 Project
Censored
> Award for his investigative history of the Monsanto Corporation. He is a
> faculty member at Goddard College and the ISE. His articles on
environmental
> politics appear frequently in Z Magazine, the Ecologist and other
> publications.
>
>
> Chaia Heller, M.A., Psychology, Antioch New England; Ph.D. candidate,
> Anthropology of Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts,
Amherst,
> has been a teacher of social ecology and ecofeminism at the Institute for
> fifteen years. She recieved research awards in 1998 from the National
Science
> Foundation and the Council for European Studies for the French opposition
to
> biotechnology. Ms. Heller has just published her first book, Ecology of
> Everyday Life: Rethinking the Desire for Nature.
>
> The comprehensive fee for Biotechnology: Science, Politics, and the
> Environment
> is $375.00. Financial Aid is available.
>
> Course fees include lodging at the Maplehill dorms (see below), and
vegetarian
> meals. Students may receive two credits at the discretion of their home
> institution. Those wishing to transfer credits should make early
arrangements
> through their academic counselor and/or college registrar. Institute staff
> will
> assist applicants in making arrangements for academic credit and issue
> transcripts upon the students' successful completion of the program.
>
> About the ISE:
>
> The Institute for Social Ecology
> (<http://ise.rootmedia.org>http://ise.rootmedia.org) was established in
> 1974 at
> Goddard College and incorporated in 1981 as an independent institution of
> higher education. Social ecology integrates the study of human and natural
> ecosystems through understanding the relationship between culture and
nature.
> This interdisciplinary approach draws on studies in the natural sciences,
> feminism, anthropology and philosophy to provide a coherent radical
> critique of
> current anti-ecological trands and to offer a reconstructive,
communitarian
> and
> ethical approach to social life.
>
> Social Ecology, which played a crucial role in the development of the
> anti-nuclear movement of the 1970s, is now a catalytic influence on
radical
> ecology activists fighting the injustices surrounding biotechnology.
>
> The course will be held on the on the ISE campus on Maple Hill in
Plainfield,
> Vermont, and on the 140 acre farmstead of the Maplehill Community School,
also
> in Plainfield. Both facilities are located on exceptionally beautiful
sites in
> the rural countryside and in close proximity to national and state forest
> recreation areas, and the state capital, Montpelier, Facilities include a
> small library and bookstore, indoor and outdoor classroom environments,
> organic
> gardens, a pond, hiking and cross-country ski trails.
>
> To register, please send a $25 deposit before December 15, 1999 to:
>
> Institute for Social Ecology
> 1118 Maple Hill Road
> Plainfield, Vermont 05667
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Also, please indicate if you will be needing financial aid. Write to us at
the
> above address, or call (802) 454-8493 if you need any additional
information.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>