Title: Awe, Wonder and Meaning in Research and Communication
Presenter/Facilitator: Anna-Zoë Herr (Universität Heidelberg), PhD Candidate [Guest Researcher at UTAS]
When: 9-11am, Mon 17th Nov 2025
Where: Flexspace (rm 105), IMAS Salamanca
Please RSVP to [email protected] for catering numbers (morning tea and coffee)
Summary:
You warmly invited to an interactive workshop exploring the role of awe, wonder and meaning in research and communication.
Zoë’s doctoral research investigates how polar scientists navigate hope within their fieldwork and introduces a new framework of hope in times of ecological crisis. Drawing from survival narratives, literature, and her own fieldwork, this workshop invites participants to explore how understanding the dynamics of hope can open up new ways of engaging with scientific practice and communication. Research shows that hope and survivability are deeply intertwined. Hope is not a simple switch that can be turned on or off; it emerges from a constellation of internal and external conditions.
With a background in facilitation and science communication, Zoë will present relevant stories and insight from her research, her evolving framework of hope and guide you through a series of reflective exercises, some collective, some individual. Participants are encouraged to bring an open mind, a spirit of curiosity and a pen and paper. You will walk away with practical tools to integrate awe, meaning, and storytelling into your work, deeper personal connection to the role of hope in times of ecological crisis and new perspectives on the transformative potential of your work.
Bio: Anna-Zoë Herr is an anthropologist who explores how scientists navigate hope in the face of environmental collapse in her doctoral thesis at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Her research follows polar researchers in Tasmania and Germany to understand how mental states and emotions like hope and responsibility shape scientific work, communication, and imagination within environments that are publicly inaccessible but highly relevant. Through interviews and ethnographic fieldwork, she explores how hope is not just a feeling, but an emergent practice that helps us stay connected to what matters in uncertain times. Prior to her PhD, Zoë worked for several years in Public Engagement, Science Communication and Facilitation.
