Programme
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13.00 |
Welcome and introduction |
Eivind Engebretsen |
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13.20 |
“Trust me, I’m a sustainability scientist” |
Sarah Cornell |
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13.50 |
Questions and discussion |
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14.10 |
A critical look at the concept of “gender” in sustainable development discourse |
Hil Ousland Vandeskog |
|
14.30 |
Questions and discussion |
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|
14.50 |
Closing remarks |
Jan Buts |
Trust me, I’m a sustainability scientist
At its core, sustainability science has always involved a commitment to moving knowledge about the interdependence of people and our environments into societal action. In today’s world, sustainability challenges are increasingly labelled as crises, those sustainability scientists who promise or preach (techno) ‘solutions’ are prominently rewarded, and the apparatuses of sustainability action are skewed towards particular positions of power and privilege. Cornell will discuss how our needs – as scholars and citizens – for sustainability knowledge and action require more critical engagement in the problematization of sustainability challenges; the navigation of dilemmas arising from our complex reliance on technologies; and especially the maintenance of trust in the scholarly institutions that support long-held internationally agreed visions for a sustainable society.
About Sarah Cornell
Sarah Cornell is a principal researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and associate professor in sustainability science at Stockholm University. Her research background is in global biogeochemical changes, and for the past two decades she has led and collaborated within multi-discipline research groups that aim to identify appropriate responses to large-scale social-ecological system challenges and inform sustainability policy and decision-making.
A critical look at the concept of “gender”
A critical look at the concept of “gender” in sustainable development discourse is the title of Hil Vandeskog's talk. What can corpus-assisted discourse analysis tell us about who is left behind? In their recently defended PhD thesis, Hil Vandeskog explores the way that “gender” is given meaning in the sustainable development goals, and subsequently in development aid policy and planning texts developed by Norwegian aid NGOs.
The research question of the thesis was “What gendered vulnerabilities are visible or invisible in Norwegian aid NGO texts in the SDG era? What are the implications of the articulations of gender in aid NGOs’ planning texts for the SDGs' leave no one behind-pledge and the rights-based approach to development?” In exploring these questions, the research uncovers unresolved tensions and fundamental discrepancies in the meaning assigned to “gender” in the texts under analysis. These discrepancies and tensions may cause gender and sexual minorities to be left behind by mainstream gender and development programmes.
About Hil Ousland Vandeskog
Hil Ousland Vandeskog is a post-doctoral researcher at SUSTAINIT at the University of Oslo, affiliated with Imperial College London. They are a political scientist with a PhD from the Faculty of at UiO, and an MA in Human Rights Studies. Their research interests include policy analysis with a particular focus on global health and sustainable development, and the impact of global health and development policies on marginalised groups.
Sign up
The event is free and open to all, also digitally, but please sign up here.
The seminar is organised by the Centre for Global Sustainability’s thematic area on ‘Knowledge, technology, and trust’, in cooperation with the research groups Sustainability Law and KNOWIT.