Overview

A transformative account of the role science can play in combatting injustice--by deepening our moral commitments to each other through collaborative investigation. For many people, science and social justice seem to be natural allies-the slogan ""science is real"" often accompanies affirmations of diversity and reproductive rights. In practice, too, doing science is an increasingly prevalent strategy of social and environmental justice movements. But while it seems apparent that science can aid in the pursuit of justice, it can be hard to explain how it does so-and thus hard to know how to deploy science most strategically. In The Science of Repair, Gwen Ottinger draws on years of on-the-ground research to offer a much-needed explanation of how science works to combat injustice. Telling the stories of ordinary people who've turned to science in the hopes of reducing toxic pollution in their communities, the scientists and innovators who've developed methods to enable communities to better represent their experiences, and the charismatic technologies that they've deployed, Ottinger presents a surprising conclusion: proving that people have been harmed, in itself, rarely advances justice. The process of investigating injustice, on the other hand, can strengthen shared standards for right and wrong, increase ordinary people's ability to hold powerful actors accountable, and bolster hope that wrongs will be redressed-all essential elements of a just society. For those who believe that science should matter to public discourse and decision-making, Gwen Ottinger's engaging new work offers clear steps to help ensure that scientific investigations further justice. It brings much needed nuance to our thinking about how science can do good in the world and why we should defend it.

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9780197769867

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Reviews

On the range of crucial issues at the intersection of environmental justice and science there is no better inquisitor than Gwen Ottinger. In this brilliant work, Ottinger illustrates ways that data collection and scientific inquiry can actually encourage and bring about more justice. This kind of 'reparative science', as Ottinger calls it, is both possible and necessary to improve accountability. With the scientific community currently under attack in so many ways, it's crucial to have stories like this that show the public good and moral value of truly engaged and inclusive public science. * David Schlosberg, Director, Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney * At a moment when science and education, diverse ways of knowing, and our environment are all under attack, this book's lessons could not be timelier and more relevant. Based on extensive fieldwork and deeply imaginative insights, Ottinger shares vital tools for expanding our moral communities through reparative science, which can combat ignorance, open pathways for inquisitiveness, accountability and justice, and is a key ingredient for making us all better neighbors. * David N. Pellow, University of California Santa Barbara * This is a timely, pointed book about science, engineering, and a future of trust and hope. In honest and bracing terms, Ottinger cuts through the limits of scientific chauvinism to put moral relations at the center of research and design. The Science of Repair is an important book offering a positive agenda for fostering communities of care and attention. * Benjamin Cohen, Lafayette College * Rooted in decades of work alongside environmental justice communities, The Science of Repair moves beyond rigid debates about scientific production to ask how we might build moral relationships, through hope, curiosity, respect, and the practice of generous questioning. In an era when trust is tenuous, it is an essential companion for anyone engaged in the deep work of research collaboration."" * Shannon Dosemagen, Open Environmental Data Project * In a world desperately in need of repair * and with too few committed to a fact-filled futureProfessor Ottinger's probing, empathic and powerful narrative grapples with the question of how to maximize the contribution of scientific research to social justice. The Science of Repair is not just a timely defense of a justice-attuned research enterprise, but also an important contribution to the age-old efforts to square knowledge and action. Read this book and you may think and act differently.David Guston, Arizona State University *

Author Information

Gwen Ottinger is a Professor at Drexel University whose research integrates empirical social science and normative political theory to understand the role of science and technology in creating a just world. Ottinger received the 2015 Rachel Carson Prize from the Society for Social Studies of Science for their first book, Refining Expertise: How Responsible Engineers Subvert Environmental Justice Challenges. Their research grants and fellowships include an NSF CAREER award, an ACLS-Burkhardt Fellowship, and a Fulbright Research Chair at the University of Ottawa.

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