Love and Knowledge: Fostering Queer Identities in Science, a Conversation with UT Student Researchers
Part of the GSC Living with Pride Series

Samantha Archer and Rick W. A. Smith will each share a personal anecdote about how they came to science, introduce their research, and speak about their commitment to incorporating their queer and feminist identities into their scholarship. Come join in the conversation!

Samantha Archer holds degrees in Anthropology and Women's and Gender Studies from UT. She is currently a research assistant in the Bolnick Molecular Anthropology lab and plans to soon pursue a PhD in biological anthropology. Her research interests involve integrating intersectional feminist and queer theory with anthropological genetic research to further understandings of the molecular correlates of systemic marginalization and oppression.

Rick W. A. Smith is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is interested in how LGBTQIA perspectives lead to the formation of new and critical knowledges in science. Rick’s doctoral research merges molecular biology, genetics, and epigenetics with feminist and queer theory to study the DNA-level effects of class, gender, and ethnic violence in ancient societies. He is also interested in the opportunities and problems that emerge when people use DNA to understand their identity and those of others.