Event Recording:
Criss-crossing the disparate realms of healthcare and global finance, war and national security, climate and personal safety, the language and logic of risk have become pervasive in the twenty-first century.
This public conversation invites the panel of speakers to consider the relationship between democratic governance and risk as a form of social and political rationality. Examining attempts to manage risk in the contexts of healthcare, national security, science and technology, finance, and human sustainability, each speaker will ask: What challenges does the 'risk society' present to democratic governance? How might shared risks be truly mitigated, rather than offloaded to those with less structural advantage? And what might a democratic theory of risk management look like?
This is a joint event with the Calleva Centre at Magdalen College.
Charles Vincent
Emeritus Fellow of Jesus College & Professor of Psychology, University of Oxford
Charles Vincent is Professor of Psychology at the University of Oxford. His work focuses on risk management, patient safety, and assessing the quality of care within the NHS.
Greta Krippner
Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan
Greta Krippner is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan. Her work explores the history and long-term individualisation of financial risk in the United States, from the perspectives of historical, economic, and political sociology.
Émile P. Torres
Author & Ph.D. Candidate, Leibniz University Hannover
Émile P. Torres is a PhD candidate in philosophy at Leibniz Universität Hannover and a prominent commentator on emerging technologies. Their work focuses on the application of risk frameworks to the future of humanity and tracing the intellectual history of longtermism.
Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen
Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen
Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen is the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Copenhagen and a former official in the Danish Ministry of Defence. His research focuses on how conceptions of risk have influenced military strategy over time, including in the War in Ukraine.
Andrew Stirling
Professor of Science and Technology Policy, University of Sussex
Andrew Stirling is Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the University of Sussex. His work explores frameworks of risk with respect to globally pressing issues, including emerging biotechnologies, energy policy, and the state of democracy.
Suzanne Schneider (Moderator)
Visiting Fellow, Magdalen College & Deputy Director, Brooklyn Institute for Social Research
Suzanne Schneider is Deputy Director and Core Faculty at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, specializing in political theory and history of the modern Middle East. She is currently working on a new book about the use of risk as a social and political tool.
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