Virtual Forums
Founded in 2020, the Miami Institute for the Social Sciences coordinates virtual forums bringing together knowledge producers across the Global South and North— and within and beyond the academe— to engage in mutual dialogue on research, knowledge, and theories of change. In doing this work, the Miami Institute has collaborated with various institutions of higher education, nonprofits, and networks such as the United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH) in Malaysia; Queen Mary, University of London; the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS); Universidad Iberoamericana (CDMX, Mexico City); and, the "Red Comparte” network of Jesuits across Latin America.
The most informal types of virtual events at the Miami Institute for the Social Sciences are the “virtual roundtables,” such as this forthcoming one between former Hewlett Foundation President Larry Kramer and critical scholar of philanthropy, Inderjeet Parmar. For such roundtables, the discussants do not publish essays in advance of the virtual conversation. Rather, they simply come together for a relatively casual conversation on a selected topic, with the conversation usually lasting 60-90 minutes.
The more formal types of events at the Institute are the “forums,” which tend to begin with a scholar defining a conversation topic. Such provocations have included: “what is medical anthropology?”; “how do we begin or finish attempts to replace international development with more just models for wealth redistribution?”; and, “how should we reimagine global public goods in the 21st century?” The scholar-curator proposing the central question invites 3-4 knowledge producers to respond to the provocation. Each member of the forum writes a relatively short response to the provocation (1500 words). Once the essays are published on the Miami Institute’s website— at a time/schedule convenient to everyone involved— then the contributors come together for a concluding virtual roundtable to discuss their essays in dialogue with each other.
Below are some examples of these forums at the Miami Institute for the Social Sciences.
A Selected List of
Past and Present Virtual Forum Topics
On the Field of Economics (2020-2021)
On the Field of Philosophy (2021)
Sobre la economía social y solidaria en América Latina (2021)
What it Means to “Fund the Revolution in the Academe” (2021)
On the Field of Sociology (2022)
Reimagining Global Public Goods in the 21st Century (2022)
Reckoning with Empires (2022)
Past, Present, and Future of African American Studies in the U.S. (2023)
What is Medical Anthropology? A Virtual Conversation among Graduate Students in the Field (2023)
What Does It Mean to Decolonize Global Public Health? (2024)
How Should We Understand the Legacy of Shirley Graham-Du Bois? (2025)
Is National Freedom Possible in Latin America and the Caribbean? (2026)