What is fluidity? If we look at how it is defined by dictionaries, we find it’s the quality of being smooth and beautiful, or likely to change (Oxford Dictionary); it is the physical property of a substance that enables it to flow (Merriam Webster); the quality of being likely to change repeatedly and unexpectedly, or of being continuous (Cambridge Dictionary).

All these definitions are similar, reminiscent of a state of being that is momentary, characterized by movement and impermanence. Can the so-called hard sciences and the humanities come together around a single word, and investigate its multifaceted meaning? To what extent can fluidity as understood by a biologist be compared with that understood by a political scientist or an artist? Can this exchange enrich the interpretation that we all have of what’s fluidity and how we understand it in the society we inhabit?

Ohme brings together scientists, researchers, and artists to explore one single word and unfold the multiple meanings and repercussions it has on our knowledge and perceptions.

With: 

Prof. Dr. Karen Celis, research professor at the Department of Political Science and co-director Research of RHEA, Research Centre on gender, diversity and intersectionality (VUB);

Prof. Dr. Karine Van Doninck, Full Professor at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences at ULB and UNamur. Principal Investigator of the ERC Consolidator Grant RHEA.

Moderated by Camilla Colombo, curator (Ohme)