Oliver Rollins
Assistant Professor
Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Speaker Bio
Oliver Rollins is an Assistant Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at MIT. His research explores the way race, racialized discourses, and systemic practices of social difference impact and are shaped by the development and use of neuroscience. Rollins's book, Conviction: The Making and Unmaking of The Violent Brain (Stanford University Press, 2021), traces the evolution of neuroimaging research on anti-social behavior, stressing the limits of this controversial brain model when dealing with aspects of social inequality. His second book project will grapple with the legacies of scientific racism in and through the mind and brain sciences, elucidating how the haunting presence of race endures through modern neuroscientific theories, data, and technologies. Rollins recently received an NSF CAREER Award to investigate the intersections between social justice and science. Through this project, he aims to examine the socio-political vulnerabilities, policy possibilities, and anti-racist promises for contemporary (neuro)science. Rollins received his Ph.D. in Sociology from UCSF.
Faculty Host: Jennifer Singh