Pacific Conference

The inaugural Pacific Conference on Prejudice and Culture, held in Bellingham, WA, this past August, brought together scholars from social psychology programs at area schools, including the University of British Columbia, the University of Washington, Simon Fraser University, and Western Washington University. The program focused mainly on “data blitz" presentations. These sessions provided an intimate setting for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to present their research in a five minute talk and then receive feedback from the audience. Over a dozen members of the UW community made data blitz presentations. In addition, a faculty panel, including UW representatives Sapna Cheryan and Cheryl Kaiser, discussed and debated issues at the intersection of research in prejudice and culture.  An informal lunch gathering and an evening in the beer garden at the Boundary Bay Brewery provided further opportunity to discuss presentations, develop collaborations, and build relationships between faculty and students at the various universities. Ben Drury, a social/personality graduate student, organized the conference in collaboration with graduate student representatives from the University of British Columbia.  The next gathering will occur during summer 2012.