FAS professorial-rank faculty members are invited to submit applications for funding in support of travel to attend a regional or international conference in topics in Anthropology, Economics, Education, Gender, Media Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Public Health, Sociology, or other related fields. Bobst-AUB has limited funding for this opportunity, and applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Eligibility: FAS professorial-rank faculty members. The Bobst-AUB Collaborative Initiative offers support to applications that are not eligible for funding from the FAS Dean's Office Conference Travel Support for Professorial Faculty or to applicants who already benefitted from Dean's Office conference travel support during the same year. Priority will be given to junior faculty and first-time applicants.
Budget: Up to $2,500 for MENA and Europe; up to $3,000 for elsewhere
Application materials: Apply
online. Please upload in PDF: 1. Abstract of presentation including the conference details (name, location, date) and a budget proposal; 2. Conference acceptance letter from the organizers; and 3. Information on funding source, status, and coverage amount if additional funds have been received or sought from other sources.
Application deadline: October 1; March 15
Contact: [email protected]
2024-25
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Exploring Consistency in Nature of Science Conceptions and Argumentation Skills Across Socioscientific Contexts
Rola Khishfe, Department of Education
This study aimed to explore the consistency of undergraduate student teachers' conceptions of the nature of science (NOS) and their argumentation skills across various socioscientific issues (SSI) contexts. The participants were 80 undergraduate student teachers enrolled in a science methods course at six universities in Lebanon. A mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative designs, was employed to examine students' responses concerning NOS and argumentation within different SSI contexts. Data collection involved two questionnaires and interviews. The first questionnaire assessed topic-specific knowledge, while the second presented three scenarios addressing SSIs: water fluoridation, global warming, and genetically modified food. Each scenario was followed by two sets of questions: one focusing on the components of argumentation (arguments, counterarguments, and rebuttals) and the other on three key NOS aspects (subjectivity, tentativeness, and empiricism). Findings revealed variations in the levels of sophistication in argumentation components and NOS conceptions across different SSI contexts. The study concludes with recommendations for future research and practical implications for teaching NOS and argumentation in science education.
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Participation in The Materials of Magic: Between Coexistence and Resistance Workshop at NYU
Enass Khansa, Department of Arabic and NEL
I am writing to request conference travel fund. In my work on premodern/postclassical literature, and specifically on an unpublished unicum manuscript, currently held at the Escorial library in Spain, which is the topic of my book, I often encounter material that reflect popular medical knowledge that blends science with magic. This is an area of research that has been understudied and isolated from the broader questions of reception, imaginative culture, and the circulation of knowledge. Recent scholarship has been interested in remedying this gap, and a conference is being held at New York University, that brings specialists from North America. Titled, "The Materials of Magic: Between Coexistence and Resistance," the workshop is an all-day in-person series of talks, hosted through NYU’s Silsila: Center for Material Histories. With the difficult situation that the country has been going through, and the lull in holding conferences in Lebanon, exposure and connection to scholarly circles are paramount for academic growth.