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"The Fine Line Between Science and Politics" on May 14th at 4:30 PM

 

 

 
Is there a role for science in politics? In legislative debate, elected officials often draw on scientific evidence to reinforce the perceived necessity and legitimacy of their policy initiative. As debates over global warming have taught us, reliance on scientific data is potentially hazardous; science is complicated, and is often purposely or accidentally misconstrued when used in the political realm.
 
As a magazine reporter and International Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, Samiha Shafy has researched how scientific knowledge is translated into action, and the challenges and hurdles that exist in the translation. Specifically, she will explore the role of science and public health in international development and how the United Nations and NGOs can contribute.
 
Samiha Shafy has worked as a science reporter for Der Spiegel, the German newsmagazine, since 2007, covering new developments in the fields of science, environment, energy, water, climate, public health, and their political and social implications. She holds a master’s degree in Environmental Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, where she studied biomedicine, aquatic systems, sociology, and environmental economics. Currently, she is a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.
 
Please join us for Samiha Shafy’s talk, “The Fine Line Between Science and Politics,” at Rockefeller 003 at 4:30 pm, May 14, 2012.