Centre for Rural Economy Seminar – Professor Joy Y. Zhang 

Title: Futuring Biological Commons: Engagement and the Cosmopolitics of Science

Date & Time: 23 October 2025 at 15:00

Venue: AGRB.3.05

Professor Joy Y. Zhang, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent and Founding Director of the Centre for Global Science and Epistemic Justice, will present a seminar on ‘Futuring Biological Commons: Engagement and the Cosmopolitics of Science’.

‘This talk reimagines socio-ethical engagement in science—not as a fixed set of rules, but as a collective process of shaping futures. Socio-technical imaginaries have long been central to guiding innovation, yet in global discourse they are often flattened into rival visions competing for dominance.

Building on Elinor Ostrom’s idea of commoning, I propose an alternative approach that treats ethics as a socio-political vision and emphasises cultivating ethical social relations across borders. This perspective is developed in Futuring Biological Commons, a research programme funded by ARIA, where “future” is understood both as a noun and a verb: it refers to the prospects for life on Earth and the active shaping of those futures through the hopes and actions that orient us toward particular socio-technical pathways.

Rather than seeking consensus, this talk calls for a cosmopolitics of science; one that embraces plurality, nurtures caring relationships between ecosystems, animals, and communities, and enables diverse publics to navigate the promises and uncertainties of emerging biotechnologies together.’

Light refreshments will follow the seminar. We hope to see you all there!