This symposium will take place at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, located at 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Agenda
October 9, 2025 | 9:00am – 5:30pm | 8:00am Check in | Box lunch provided
Time
Event
8:00 AM (all day)
Check in
9:00 AM – 9:25 AM
Welcome & overview
Kate Cagney
Complexity and building a science about our social world
Margaret Hicken
American logic and structure and understanding racial inequities
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Moderated discussion: Complex thinking about the social world
Panelists will discuss the importance of complex thinking (but not necessarily complex modeling) to social science, particularly around the concept of structural racism, and how we balance the tension between complex and more unifying frameworks. Further, panelists will discuss how to approach complex ideas with a diversity of modeling approaches.
Discussant:
Panelists:
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM
Break
10:50 AM – 11:50 AM
Moderated discussion: Epistemic lens and transparency
Panelists will discuss the tension between subjectivity and objectivity and whether/how our lens impacts the questions we ask, the theories and frameworks we use, our methods, and the ways in which we interpret our results. Panelists will also discuss the difference between advocacy and science and the need for transparency in our empirical motivations.
Discussant:
Panelists:
11:55 AM – 12:50 PM
Moderated discussion: Theories, frameworks, and the limits of causal inference
Panelists will discuss the purpose, utility, and limitations of both guiding theories and frameworks as well as causal inference. Panelists will also discuss how theory and causal inference are connected, the link between causal thinking and causal modeling, and how we might consider “cause” in a complex social world.
Discussant:
Panelists:
12:50 PM – 2:00 PM
Lunch networking activity
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Presentations: Innovative approaches to the study of complexity
3:30 PM- 4:00 PM
Break
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Presentations: Properties of structural racism as a framework to guide research
Panelists:
Leticia M. Saucedo
Property: Logic guides the dynamic nature of structure
The parallel worlds of guest work and gig work
Davon Norris
Property: The structure may appear neutral and rational
Credit scores as a tool of oppression
Louise Seamster
Property: Social groups are relational; some are disposable
Place-based harm and relational development
Geoff Ward
Property: History is erased and reconfigured but lives on in the present
Environmental exposures as a link to the past
5:25 PM- 5:30 PM
Closing words
October 10, 2025 | 9:00am – 1:30pm | 8:00am Check in | Box lunch provided
Time
Event
8:00 AM (all day)
Check in
9:00 AM – 9:55 AM
Welcome
Moderated discussion: Scientific communication and public engagement
In this moderated discussion, panelists will provide their perspectives on how we communicate about the science of racial inequalities, particularly in polarizing environments.
Discussant:
Panelists:
Bocar Ba
Odis Johnson
Mara Ostfeld
Victor Ray
Ekeoma Uzogara
10:00 AM – 10:50 AM
Moderated discussion: The academic hunger games approach to science
Discussant: Darrell Hudson
Panelists will share their expertise and experiences on the academic approach to science, including the challenges presented by segregated academic networks of privilege, short-term metrics of success, disciplinary silos, and the tension that may exist between building a CV and building a scientific contribution.
Discussant:
10:50 AM – 11:10 AM
Break
11:10 AM – 12:00 PM
Moderate discussion: Moving toward a stronger interdisciplinary science
In this final session, scientists will share their perspectives on how we can strengthen and expand the foundation of the complex social issues around racial inequality. Panelists will discuss how we can strengthen scientific training around complex thinking and, together, build an interdisciplinary evidence base that might inform policies to improve inequalities.
Discussant:
12:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Lunch networking activity
1:15 PM – 1:30 PM
Closing remarks and next steps