On Monday 28th of November long time Bassetti Foundation collaborator Dr Cristina Grasseni chaired a seminar at The STS Circle (Science, Technology and Society), part of the Harvard Kennedy School in Boston.

The STS program is directed by Sheila Jasanoff who convened the seminar entitled ‘Skilled Visions: Critical Ecologies of Belonging’, in which Grasseni presented the research project she is currently carrying out as a fellow of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies.

Grasseni’s thesis is that ‘though amply critiqued and deconstructed, ethno-racial categorizations are being re-naturalized as a result of the circulation of “socio-technical imaginaries” (Jasanoff) that feed on techno-science, such as biometric face-recognition, neuro-economics or bio-banking’. Her investigation involves web based research as well as participant observation in Boston, and will lead to a multi media presentation of her findings.

More information about the STS Circle including a list of seminars is available through their website, and for a deeper understanding of the work of Sheila Jasanoff see this article outlining her work, and follow her May 2008 visit to the Foundation in Milan via this podcast and article. This article in Italian also offers a description of her lecture delivered at the University of Milan convened by President Piero Bassetti during the same visit (including slides in English).

Photos of the Grasseni seminar are available below.