{"672938":{"#nid":"672938","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Vanderbilt Professor: Humanities and STEM Can Do More Together, and Here\u2019s How","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEven a few years ago, genomics wouldn\u2019t have been an area of research you\u2019d necessarily expect to find humanities and social sciences researchers working shoulder-to-shoulder with their counterparts in STEM fields to find solutions to pressing problems.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBut that\u2019s exactly what Jay Clayton, a professor at Vanderbilt University, achieved with his project examining how film, shows, and social media portray the risks and benefits posed by genetic science.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EClayton recently visited Georgia Tech to share his experience and model of transdisciplinary collaboration among scholars in science, literature, and the social sciences. During his visit, he gave a talk and presided over a faculty workshop.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe discussions of his work at both events confirmed the strong interest and potential in future transdisciplinary efforts in the College and the Institute,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/richard-utz\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERichard Utz\u003C\/a\u003E, senior associate dean in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. \u201cWe should capitalize on the momentum these discussions indicate and follow Dr. Clayton\u2019s example of linking our individual disciplines and their methodologies with those in other units, especially for the sake of our students, who crave experiential learning that not only increases knowledge, but also directly impacts policy and society.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe events were co-sponsored by the School of Literature, Media, and Communication; the School of Modern Languages; and the School of Public Policy. The events also brought together colleagues from Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Integrative Genomics.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EHow the Humanities Can Inform Science Policy\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EClayton\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.vanderbilt.edu\/2021\/03\/15\/unique-transdisciplinary-collaboration-gives-undergrads-exposure-to-research-experience-in-the-humanities\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ework\u003C\/a\u003E, which attracted $8 million in National Institutes of Health funding, seeks to better understand how culture affects attitudes towards genetic privacy, demonstrating, Clayton said, \u201chow humanists can collaborate with scientists to have tangible effects on public policy.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHis team, which includes students in public policy, economics, anthropology, and other fields, examined hundreds of films and shows, including Blade Runner, X-Men films, and medical dramas, coding them for how they portrayed genetic research. They not only discovered changes in attitudes toward genetic privacy over the years but also successfully published 24 articles in refereed journals \u2014 most with undergraduate students as co-authors.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ongoing work has helped Clayton develop his problem-based approach to research, in which scholars from a variety of disciplines look to examine a single issue and share data but use their own research methods as they work toward synthesizing their conclusions and policy recommendations.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe model is the subject of Clayton\u2019s 2023 book, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/us\/universitypress\/subjects\/literature\/literary-theory\/literature-science-and-public-policy-darwin-genomics?format=HB\u0026amp;isbn=9781009263528\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ELiterature, Science, and Public Policy: From Darwin to Genomics\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003ESimilarities to VIP\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhereas the concept may be new to some in the liberal arts, it is likely more familiar to the Georgia Tech community. The \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.vip.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EVertically Integrated Project\u003C\/a\u003E program, founded at Georgia Tech in 2008, involves undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty in large-scale, multidisciplinary projects.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIvan Allen College students and faculty are involved with colleagues across campus in numerous VIP projects, including ones examining the intersection of art and AI, linguistics, and the interplay between sports and community transformation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EYou can learn more about VIP programs that are a good fit for Ivan Allen College students at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.vip.gatech.edu\/teams\/desired_majors_list\/ivan-allen\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EVIP website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe School of Literature, Media, and Communication; the School of Modern Languages; and the School of Public Policy are units of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJay Clayton talked to students and faculty about how to integrate the humanities and social sciences into STEM research projects.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jay Clayton talked to students and faculty about how to integrate the humanities and social sciences into STEM research projects."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2024-02-14 13:57:39","changed_gmt":"2024-02-14 13:57:39","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-02-14T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-02-14T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673077":{"id":"673077","type":"image","title":"clayton event.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EJay Clayton, a professor at Vanderbilt University, spoke to Georgia Tech students and faculty about integrating humanities and social sciences in science policy research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1707918927","gmt_created":"2024-02-14 13:55:27","changed":"1707918842","gmt_changed":"2024-02-14 13:54:02","alt":"A man in a suit speaks at a podium","file":{"fid":"256430","name":"clayton event.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/14\/clayton%20event.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/14\/clayton%20event.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":258558,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/02\/14\/clayton%20event.jpg?itok=tKG-3ZBu"}}},"media_ids":["673077"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1283","name":"School of Literature, Media, and Communication"},{"id":"1284","name":"School of Modern Languages"},{"id":"1289","name":"School of Public Policy"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMichael Pearson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}