Friday, February 22, 2013 (7:00 pm to 8:30 pm)
PUBLIC CONVERSATION with RENATA SALECL
a conversation with Manya Steinkohler moderated by Patricia Gherovici
Slought Foundation, 4017 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3513
http://slought.org/content/11517/
February 22, 7:00 pm to 8:30 p.m.
The results of DNA testing and other forms of forensic evidence support an idea of the efficacy of science, of its empirical neutrality, and by extension, of its fundamental accuracy and justness. Yet, we cannot escape the fact that such technologies are frequently compromised by their implementation, by subjective motives driving their application, and by the private issues investigators, technicians, and experts bring to bear on the evidence they yield. Renata Salecl has compiled countless examples of forensic errors and legal fraud. She will use her unique blend of Lacanian analysis and cultural critique to question the myth of a neutral forensic science, finally arguing that one should distinguish “bad science” from “perverted science.”
The New York psychoanalyst and author Manya Steinkoler will respond to her findings, and engage in a conversation with her. The conversation will be moderated by Patricia Gherovici, a Philadelphia psychoanalyst.
Renata Salecl is a Slovene philosopher, sociologist and legal theorist. She is a senior researcher at the Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana. She has been a visiting professor at London School of Economics for several years. Every year she lectures for a couple of weeks at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (New York), on Psychoanalysis and Law. Renata Salecl is a leading scholar on this particular subject. She has also been teaching on neuroscience and law. In 2012 she was also attached as visiting professor at Kings College, London. Her books have been translated into ten languages.