Research — Jackie Ashkin

My doctoral research focuses on understanding the role of computational practices, especially numerical modelling, in scientific knowledge of coastal environments in the Netherlands. What are the necessary (e.g. organizational, environmental) conditions for making knowledge of the coast? What are the consequences for how we know and plan for coastal adaptation and resilience?

I hold an M.A. (hons, First Class) in Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. My previous work was largely with indigenous communities in Latin America and Southeast Asia, and I maintain a broader interest in engaging varied ways of knowing and confronting environmental change.

Currently based at the Centre for Science & Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University

fields: science & technology studies (STS), anthropology of science

research interests: coasts & oceans, computational practices, digitalization, (e)valuation, climate change, ethnography

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9155-4863

Scholarly publications

Ashkin, J. (forthcoming). ‘Making Models Matter: on “coastalizing” ocean modelling in the Netherlands’ in Coastal Futures, eds. Lukas Ley & Arne Harms. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Ashkin, J. & Cengiz, E. (2023). ‘Whose Job is it Anyways?: Decolonization as ethics in European STS’ in EASST Review, Vol. 42(2). Accessible for free here.

Public Engagement

Ashkin, J. (2021, April). ‘Pointing fingers does not beat fear’ in The (Non)Sense of Conspiracy Theories, Pieter’s Corner (Blog of Faculty of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Leiden University).

Following this blogpost I was interviewed for an episode of the BBC podcast The Compass entitled ‘The Public Misunderstanding of Science’. I was also featured in the documentary Onbegrepen (“Misunderstood”), directed by Wigbert Riphagen and appearing on 2Doc.nl. You can watch the film on their website or on youtube.

Scholarly Service

Chair (2020-2022) of Leids Promovendi Overleg (LEO), the PhD association for Leiden University
PhD Representative (2019-2021) on the Education Committee of the Netherlands Graduate Research School of Science, Technology & Modern Culture (WTMC)

EU TalentOn 2022

In September 2022 I participated in the inaugural EU TalentOn. Sponsored by the EU Directorate-General for Research & Innovation, this event invited young scholars based in the EU to participate in a five-day pressure cooker, organized around the EU’s five Mission Areas. My team and I - the Coastbusters - won first place in our mission area, Restore Our Ocean and Waters. You can read more about the event from the TalentOn website or in this press release in the EU Reporter.