Cultivating intellectual community in academia: reflections from the Science and Technology Studies Food and Agriculture Network (STSFAN)
Karly Ann Burch, Mascha Gugganig, Julie Guthman, Emily Reisman, Matt Comi, Samara Brock, Barkha Kagliwal, Susanne Freidberg, Patrick Baur, Cornelius Heimstädt, Sarah Ruth Sippel, Kelsey Speakman, Sarah Marquis, Lucía Argüelles, Charlotte Biltekoff, Garrett M. Broad, Kelly Bronson, Hilary Oliva Faxon, Xaq Frohlich, Ritwick Ghosh · Agriculture and Human Values · 2023
Scholarship flourishes in inclusive environments where open deliberations and generative feedback expand both individual and collective thinking. Many researchers, however, have limited access to such settings, and most conventional academic conferences fall short of promises to provide them. We have written this Field Report to share our methods for cultivating a vibrant intellectual community within the Science and Technology Studies Food and Agriculture Network (STSFAN). This is paired with insights from 21 network members on aspects that have allowed STSFAN to thrive, even amid a global pandemic. Our hope is that these insights will encourage others to cultivate their own intellectual communities, where they too can receive the support they need to deepen their scholarship and strengthen their intellectual relationships.