Cultivating intellectual community in academia: reflections from the Science and Technology Studies Food and Agriculture Network (STSFAN)

Karly 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 Broad; Kelly Bronson; Hilary Faxon; Xaq Frohlich; Ritwick Ghosh; Saul Halfon; Katharine Legun; Sarah J Martin

doi:10.1007/s10460-023-10439-1

Cultivating intellectual community in academia: reflections from the Science and Technology Studies Food and Agriculture Network (STSFAN)

Agric Human Values. 2023 May 1:1-9. doi: 10.1007/s10460-023-10439-1. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Karly Burch¹, Mascha Gugganig², Julie Guthman³, Emily Reisman⁴, Matt Comi⁵, Samara Brock⁶, Barkha Kagliwal⁷, Susanne Freidberg⁸, Patrick Baur⁹, Cornelius Heimstädt¹⁰, Sarah Ruth Sippel¹¹, Kelsey Speakman¹², Sarah Marquis¹³, Lucía Argüelles¹⁴, Charlotte Biltekoff¹⁵, Garrett Broad¹⁶, Kelly Bronson¹³, Hilary Faxon^{17

18}, Xaq Frohlich¹⁹, Ritwick Ghosh²⁰, Saul Halfon²¹, Katharine Legun²², Sarah J Martin²³

Affiliations

¹ University of Auckland, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
² University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
³ University of California, Santa Cruz, USA.
⁴ University at Buffalo, Buffalo, USA.
⁵ National Farm Medicine Center at Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Marshfield, USA.
⁶ Yale University, New Haven, USA.
⁷ Cornell University, Ithaca, USA.
⁸ Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA.
⁹ University of Rhode Island, Kingstown, USA.
¹⁰ MINES Paris - PSL / CNRS, Paris, France.
¹¹ University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
¹² York University, Toronto, Canada.
¹³ University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
¹⁴ Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁵ University of California, Davis, USA.
¹⁶ Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ USA.
¹⁷ University of Montana, Missoula, USA.
¹⁸ University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁹ Auburn University, Auburn, USA.
²⁰ Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.
²¹ Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA.
²² Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands.
²³ Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Canada.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Intellectual communities; communities of practice; academic writing; science and technology studies (STS); agri-food.