| Leonardo/ISASTwith Arizona State University

Lissette Lorenz

PhD Candidateat Cornell University
Headshot of Lissette Lorenz, composite creature
Virginia Beach,
United States
Focus area: Body, Self

Lissette Lorenz (they, she) is a PhD candidate in science and technology studies (STS) at Cornell University with a background in environmental studies and dance. They study the environ/mental health challenges of more-than-human communities in the age of planetary crisis. Drawing from critical social theories across the humanities and social sciences, Lissette utilizes interdisciplinary and experimental qualitative methods involving somatic techniques to address this crisis. As a neurodivergent scholar, Lissette also draws from their own personal experiences with bipolarity and ADHD to further explore Earthly un/worlding in art-science contexts. With climate change already affecting vulnerable human and more-than-human communities around the world, their dissertation research on art-science interventions for the Chthulucene (the age of monsters) examines the ways that posthuman storytelling proposes lessons for collective intra-, inter-, and trans- species survival. Their current dance project is entitled “Dance Your Diasporic DNA/Baila Tu ADN Diaspórico,” which explores how genetic genealogies and dance traditions are diffractively mapped onto the body when mediated through different technologies. Their writing on community-based theater for environmental justice can be found in the Routledge Handbook for Art, Science, and Technology Studies. Their research is funded in part by the Mellon Foundation and the National Science Foundation.