Dr. Gifford
Dragons, Mules, and Honeybees: Why We Do Less Than We Should, and How We Can Overcome
Most people think climate change and sustainability are important problems, but too few of us who are engaged
in high greenhouse-gas-emitting behaviours are committed to enough mitigating behavior to stem the
accelerating flow of greenhouse gases and other sustainability problems. Why is that? Structural barriers are
part of the answer, but psychological barriers also impede our behavioural choices that would facilitate
solutions. Many of us are trying, but most of us could do more. We are hindered by seven species of
psychological barriers, the “dragons of inaction.” To overcome these dragons, people from many disciplines
must all work together. Some potential solutions will be discussed.
Dr. Smart
Buddha in the Brain: The Meeting of Contemplative Practice and Western Science
During the “flower power” era of the 1960’s and 70’s, a small body of research accumulated on the
psychological and physiological effects of meditation practice, although this went largely unnoticed or
undervalued by mainstream science. However, with recent and rapid advances in scientific technology,
particularly in the area of cognitive-affective neuroscience, the scientific study of meditation has now become
part of mainstream scientific inquiry. In particular, the emergence of techniques such as functional
neuroimaging has made it possible to study neural processes in “real time”, allowing us to probe more
thoroughly how meditation might impact people on a cognitive, emotional and behavioral level. In this talk I
will introduce the audience to the newly evolving field of contemplative neuroscience, its methods, its
limitations, and what the scientific study of meditation can offer to the individual, the state of knowledge, and
society at large.
View Dr. Smart's slide presentation on Prezi:
Dr. Reading
The Social Construction of Sex and Gender
What is sex? What is gender? Sex is often understood as our genetic and/or biological femaleness or maleness,
while gender refers to the psychological and socio-cultural characteristics associated with our sex. But is it
really that simple? Are there really only two sexes and two corresponding genders? Outside of reproductive
distinctions and a few differences in physical averages, those we call ‘male’ or ‘female’ are more similar than
different. Yet, most of us view sex and gender through a binary lens, deeply embedded in cultural myths and
stereotypes. During this talk, I will attempt to ‘unpack’ our cultural baggage around these taken-for-granted
features of human experience.
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