Jennifer Lai: Environmental Knowledge in Type 2 Diabetes Science

In this talk, Jennifer Lai will discuss how the Social Construction of Nature complicates the discourse surrounding environmental factors in type 2 diabetes science. When discussed in relation to type 2 diabetes, health scholars and practitioners describe environmental factors as factors that are “not genetic” or as elements of a “kitchen sink,” i.e., myriad social and material infrastructures that prevent access to nearly all aspects of healthy living. Jennifer draws from feminist science and decolonial studies to argue that while our definitions of environmental factors matter, the impact of such definitions on the actual prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes should be further scrutinized. While scholars develop the concept of environmental factors in order to advance medical discourse, who is responsible for the amelioration of environmental factors is far less clear.

Jennifer Lai is the Andrew Harris Fellow in the Department of Sociology, Health and Society Program, and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Program at the University of Vermont. Drawing from feminist science and decolonial studies, she investigates how knowledge is produced on “the environment” within type 2 diabetes science. Jennifer received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Michigan State University in 2021 and currently teaches courses on intersectional health and the American healthcare system.

Lai spoke at UVM on March 25th, 2022. Read more about Jennifer: https://www.uvm.edu/news/cas/new-sociology-faculty-member-focuses-social-justice

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