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The Conversation Project offers Oregon nonprofits free programs that engage community members in thoughtful, challenging conversations about ideas critical to our daily lives and our state's future. Conversations are facilitated by some of Oregon's most respected humanities scholars.
Science and its products enrich our lives but also challenge many established ways of thinking. Some of these challenges have become quite contentious in political and cultural arenas. What roles should scientific theory, and personal and moral values, play in decision making in a democratic society? By focusing on critical issues such as global warming, stem cell research, and intelligent design, Southern Oregon University professors Prakash Chenjeri and Charles Welden will facilitate a conversation about the relationship between science, democracy, and decision making.
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Equipment required: digital projector, screen
Program available through October 2013
Prakash Chenjeri is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Honors Program at Southern Oregon University, where he has been teaching since 1995. He was educated both in his native India and the United States. He teaches a wide variety of subjects, including moral philosophy, philosophy of science, and issues at the intersection of science and religion. More recently, Chenjeri’s research and teaching interests have focused on topics related to the role of scientific literacy in modern society and ways to engage in thoughtful dialogues about these and other issues in the context of a democracy. Chenjeri writes and lectures regularly on these issues and has presented papers on these and related topics at conferences across the country. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Association Philosophy Teachers, and serves on the Ethics Committee at Ashland Community Hospital.
Charles Welden received a Bachelor of Science degree from Tulane University and a Master of Science and PhD from Colorado State University in plant ecology. He did postdoctoral research at the University of Iowa and Princeton University. Welden’s research interests have centered around the ecology of plant communities, specifically in alpine tundra in the Rocky Mountains, semi-arid shrub lands of western Colorado, and seasonal tropical forest in Panama. He has long been interested in evolutionary theory and the philosophy of science, and has given public presentations on these topics before a variety of audiences. Welden is also interested in improving public ecological and scientific literacy so that voters can make better-informed decisions on environmental and scientific issues.
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