6 July, 2020 - 9 July, 2020
All Day

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

SRPoiSE 2020 is Canceled

We regret to inform you that the Consortium for Socially Relevant Philosophy of/in Science and Engineering (SRPoiSE) has been forced to postpone the conference previously scheduled for 7-10 July 2020 for one year later, 5-7 July 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has created many disruptions, with an unclear timeline for when they will be resolved. Among the problems: many universities have employee travel restrictions of indeterminate duration, the issuing of many visa types has been frozen or limited, and it is simply not possible to do some of the necessary local conference organizing tasks at Michigan State University while there is a stay-at-home order for all residents of Michigan.

We sincerely apologize for the disappointing news. We too are very disappointed. However, we are looking forward to July 2021.

With respect to the programme for July 2021, our plans are as follows:
(a) There will be a new call for papers in the fall of this year, because not everyone who planned to attend the conference this summer will be able to come in 2021 (and vice versa).
(b) Those who had accepted contributions of any kind (e.g., individual papers, symposia, etc.) for 2020 will have the opportunity to resubmit the same proposals in 2021 and have their submissions receive priority review.

Further details on the 2021 conference will be forthcoming later this year. In the meantime, we hope that you all remain healthy and safe.

The original conference information and CFP are below.

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The 5th Meeting of SRPoiSE: The Consortium for Socially Relevant Philosophy of/in Science and Engineering

Conference Description

The mission of The Consortium for Socially Relevant Philosophy of/in Science and Engineering (SRPoiSE) is to support, advance, and conduct philosophical work that is related to science and engineering and that contributes to public welfare and collective wellbeing. We aim to improve the capacity of philosophers of all specializations to collaborate and engage with scientists, engineers, policy-makers, and a wide range of publics to foster epistemically and ethically responsible scientific and technological research.

We are particularly interested in addressing complex social and environmental problems and in fostering the ability of researchers in science and engineering to do so as well. We seek to understand and ameliorate conceptual and institutional barriers to collaborative research across these groups. We work to cultivate strategies for training graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty on how to effectively collaborate across a variety of domains. We promote joint efforts among institutions and individual researchers to conduct socially relevant research. We seek to partner with other groups from philosophy and allied science studies disciplines to fulfill our mission. We are a welcoming and diverse organization committed to respectful and fair treatment of all of our members.

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Call for Papers – Deadline Has Passed

We seek proposals for presentations, panels, and discussions that further these aims for our 5th meeting, which will overlap with the 8th Biennial Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP). We are especially interested in work done in collaboration with and fostering reflection by scientists, engineers, medical researchers and professionals, policymakers, science communicators, or wider publics; and work that reflects on how to collaborate more effectively across these groups and overcome institutional and conceptual barriers to collaboration. Previous SRPoiSE presentation topics have included: local decarbonization policy development, smallholder farmers as agricultural innovators, and epistemic injustice in the handling of children’s medical and legal testimony. 

Submitting to SRPoiSE vs SPSP

SRPoiSE and SPSP will be held concurrently. You are welcome to submit to both conferences, but if you plan to do so, you should submit substantially different proposals. 

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

• Social justice issues in science, engineering, and medicine
• The role of ethics and values in science, technology, and medicine
• Ethics education in science and engineering; socially relevant STEM education
• Public understanding of science and medicine; science communication
• The role of science, engineering, and medicine in policy
• Issues with and new models of science advising
• Broader impacts and ethical, legal, and social implications of research
• Rethinking responsible conduct of research
• Coupled epistemic-ethical issues and analyses
• Science and democracy; democratization of science; citizen science
• Creating and cultivating cultures for ethical and socially responsible STEM
• Involving stakeholders in research; participatory action research
• Analyses of interdisciplinarity, collaboration, and engagement
• Alt-ac careers for SRPoiSE scholars

Proposal Types

Traditional individual presentations

Proposals for twenty minute presentations of original research. These proposals will be organized into thematic sessions with discussion at the end. If possible, a discussant or commenter will be assigned for the session to synthesize the discussion. Please submit an abstract of 400-500 words. Submissions that are not accepted for traditional presentation will be automatically considered for Lightning talks / open roundtables (see below).

Panel discussions

Organized panel discussions on a specific theme, focused on original research. Proposals that include diverse disciplinary approaches and/or institutional locations (e.g., faculty/student/other affiliates, different universities, academics/industry/policy) will be given priority over more homogenous panels. We encourage innovations on panel format, though panels with traditional talks are also welcome. Please submit an abstract of at least 500 words describing panel theme and format, and attach 300-500 word abstracts for each presentation/contribution. Panel proposals should not be a loosely grouped set of individual papers; those should be submitted separately. Panels should have some compelling reason to be done together, explained in the main panel abstract. Panels without a discussant to synthesize the discussion may be assigned one. Panels with traditional formats should be prepared for anonymous reviews; panels with alternative formats, including author-meets-critics sessions, should include information about panelists, and will not be reviewed anonymously. Panels will typically be limited to a maximum of 2 hours in length.

Lightning talks / Ignite session / Open roundtables

Short presentations (5-10 minutes). Exact format to be determined by number of submissions and feedback. Lightning talks and Ignite presentations generally involve a series of rapid-fire presentations, perhaps with auto-advancing slides, of roughly five minutes. Open roundtables generally involve multiple simultaneous presentations of approximately 10 minutes with small groups, with plenty of time for discussion. These formats are especially good for early-career scholars, scholars exploring a new area of research, praxis-focused case studies and best practices recommendations. Please submit an abstract of 500 words describing the topic to be presented.

Roundtable discussions

Roundtable discussions of a focal topic or question. Roundtable discussions are more informal and dialogical. Roundtables should include a strong moderator, a focal topic, question, or series of questions, prepared remarks from participants, and plenty of time for cross-panel and audience discussion. Please submit a 250-word description of the roundtable theme or topic, and an attachment including a 250-word description of the moderator’s qualifications, 250-word biographies of the roundtable panelists, and further details about roundtable format. Roundtable discussions will be evaluated in part based on the qualifications of the panelists, and will not be reviewed anonymously. Roundtables will typically be limited to 90 minutes in length.

Birds-of-a-feather briefs

Birds-of-a-feather sessions are networking opportunities in which presenters will lead an informal, town-hall-style discussion about a chosen topic for fellow practitioners, with the bulk of the time reserved for audience participation and informal discussion. Proposals should be in the form of an abstract of 250 words describing the topic to be discussed, and should attach 250-word biographies of the presenters. Birds-of-a-feather proposals will be evaluated in part based on the qualifications of the panelists, and will not be reviewed anonymously. 

Books-in-progress

Those working on book manuscripts in some pertinent area of research are invited to discuss their idea with conference participants in a session focused on constructive feedback about such projects. This includes fresh ideas for books just underway as well as books nearing completion, but does not extend to author-critics sessions on recently-published books. Please submit a 500 word abstract describing your book manuscript, and attach a 1-2 page document with additional information such as state of completion, outline, the content of your presentation, and questions for discussion / feedback sought. Prepare this document for anonymous review. In case there are not sufficient submissions for a full books-in-progress session, your submission will be considered for presentation in a traditional or short presentation format (see above).

Dissertations-in-progress

Graduate students preparing dissertation proposals, in the dissertation-writing phase, or approaching their dissertation defense are invited to present their work at a special dissertations-in-progress session focused on constructive and supportive feedback. Instructions: Please submit a 500-word abstract describing the content of your dissertation, and attach a 1-2 page document with additional information such as state of completion, outline, and questions for discussion / feedback sought. Prepare this document for anonymous review. We will work with you in advance of the session on general guidelines for preparing the presentation and what to expect. In case there are not sufficient submissions for a full dissertations-in-progress session, your submission will be considered for presentation in a traditional or short presentation format (see above).

Experiments-in-progress

We invite presentations from those working on experimental research or teaching projects that don’t neatly fit under the headings of traditional research presentations, books, or dissertations in progress, including experiments in public philosophy, field philosophy, science-philosophy collaboration, and X-phi. Please submit a 500-word abstract describing your project, and attach a 1-2 page document with further information, including what stage the project is in, the content of your presentation, and questions for discussion / feedback sought. In case there are not sufficient submissions for a full experiments-in-progress session, your submission will be considered for presentation in a traditional or short presentation format (see above).

Workshop sessions

These sessions should be working sessions, not just longer panel sessions for presenting research. As such, they should aim to have a hands-on or how to element, to focus on professionalization and (traditional or alt-ac) career success, to help students and scholars gain skills or knowledge necessary to work in SRPoiSE areas, or to make new connections between SRPoiSE scholars and thinkers in other fields or areas of philosophy not ordinarily associated with SRPoiSE. Please submit a 500-word abstract describing your workshop plan, including the role and contribution of each participant, and attach a document that includes 250-word biographies of the organizer and each participant and further description of the workshop format and activities. Workshop proposals will be evaluated in part based on the qualifications of the panelists, and will not be reviewed anonymously. As many details as possible should be included, but we are willing to consider proposals that require some details to be filled in later. 

Plenary sessions, keynotes etc.

If you have suggestions for additional plenary sessions, binary session dialogues, keynote speakers, Rogerian arguments, etc., please email srpoise2020@easychair.org. 

Submission Instructions

Please submit your proposal using our EasyChair submission form: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=srpoise2020 (submissions will open on September 17). 

Multiple submissions will be considered, but multiple appearances on the program will be limited. You will not be able to make multiple presentations of the same general kind, but you may be able to, e.g., present original research and in a more informal or praxis-focused session. Please see above regarding submissions at SRPoiSE vs SPSP.

Submissions are due by December 15, 2019. We aim to have a decision by March 1, 2019. 

SRPoiSE works to foster diversity and inclusiveness. In light of that aim, proposal authors and panel organizers will be asked to submit a 50-100 word diversity statement to explain their contributions and commitments to diversity, as relevant to their proposal and in general. You are encouraged to explain how you will contribute to and support the diversity of this conference. Conference proposals will be reviewed for quality, but final programming decisions will be made with professional and social diversity and inclusiveness in mind. 

If you have any questions about the submission process or other questions related to SRPoiSE programming, please email srpoise2020@easychair.org. See below for questions related to facilities. 

Program committee

• Matthew J. Brown (UT Dallas), Program Chair
• Justin Biddle (Georgia Tech)
• Dan Hicks (UC Merced)
• Catherine Kendig (MSU) 
• Katie Plaisance (University of Waterloo) 
• Sean Valles (MSU) 
• Thomas M. Powers (University of Delaware)
• Daniel Susser (Penn State)

Accessibility

Conference meetings rooms are ALD compatible and wheelchair accessible. Potential attendees should please feel free to contact Catherine Kendig (kendig@msu.edu) or Sean Valles (valles@msu.edu) with questions about faciliites. 

19 May, 2015 - 22 May, 2015
All Day

Center for Values in Medicine, Science, and Technology – The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson Texas

Science, technology, and medicine unquestionably have a major impact on our lives. We live with constant technological innovation and scientific discovery, and this changes the conditions that we live in, as well as the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. Science, technology, and medicine are thus entangled with our values, our culture, and our politics, and they have an important impact on policymaking and action. The Values in Medicine, Science, and Technology Conference will explore these themes through a variety of disciplinary approaches, including history and philosophy, bioethics and applied ethics, social studies, policy studies, literary & cultural studies, and new media studies, as well as interdisciplinary approaches.

This year’s conference will focus on three key themes: (1) Gender in Science, Technology, and Medicine, (2) Paul Feyerabend on Science, Values, and Politics – In honor of the 40th Anniversary of the publication of Against Method, and (3) Legitimate and Illegitimate Roles for Values in Medicine, Science, and Technology

27 March, 2015 - 28 March, 2015
12:00 am

Michigan State University – Detroit Centre, Detroit Michigan

This conference seeks to convene presentations, panels, and discussions that serve to promote better understanding of the opportunities and barriers for improving the capacity of philosophers of all specializations to collaborate and engage with scientists, engineers, policy-makers, and a wide range of publics to foster epistemically and ethically responsible scientific and technological research and policy-making. The meeting will be structured so as to encourage dialogue and catalyze future collaborations in this important area of research and practice. The attendees include graduate students, postdocs, and faculty who are already doing this work or who wish to do this work in the future and are looking to explore ways to do so.

16 October, 2014 - 19 October, 2014
All Day

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Interdisciplinary Public Problems, the Global Community, and Diversity Michigan State University is proud to host the 2014 annual meeting of the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies. Presentations and workshops will be held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center located on the campus of Michigan State University. The CFP is also posted on the AIS website: http://www.units.muohio.edu/aisorg/Conference/2014CFP.shtml

16 October, 2014 - 19 October, 2014
12:00 am - 12:00 pm

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. Ohio

In collaboration with partners, Jonathan Beever is co-organizing a conference on the ecological dimensions of bioethics to be held at Case Western Reserve University in Fall of 2014. The call for papers, attached here, outlines and frames the proposed conference.

The conference will be held between October 16th to October 19th. Papers should be sent to Jonathan Beever no later than May 2014.

12 October, 2014 - 13 October, 2014
All Day

A SRPoiSE Consortium Event: Call for Submissions

Much of the public debate around genetically modified organisms (GMO) has focused on issues of food safety and security for human consumers, despite consistent scientific evidence that such concerns are largely unsubstantiated. This focus on FOOD safety has overshadowed other potentially more relevant concerns about the larger environmental and ecological impacts of GMO development and implementation. This workshop will explore these broader ethical issues as they relate to and conflict with issues of food safety and security.

The Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State invites submissions of proposal for papers or posters on any topic relating to GMOs. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is August 30, 2014 and notification of acceptances will be completed, after peer review of anonymized abstracts, by September 15, 2014.

For further information about the event or application process, please feel free to contact Jonathan at jzb18@psu.edu.

1 October, 2014
All Day

Submissions are invited for the Second Annual Meeting of SRPoiSE, to be held at Michigan State University Detroit Center, March 27- 28, 2015. This conference seeks to convene presentations, panels, and discussions that serve to promote better understanding of the opportunities and barriers for improving the capacity of philosophers of all specializations to collaborate and engage with scientists, engineers, policy-makers, and a wide range of publics to foster epistemically and ethically responsible scientific and technological research and policy-making.

Deadline for Expressions of Interest: October 1st, 2014

10 August, 2014 - 13 August, 2014
All Day

FEMMSS5/CSWIP 2014: Call for Proposals
Submission deadline February 15, 2014

Submissions are invited for joint meeting of the The Association for Feminist Epistemologies, Methodologies, Metaphysics, and Science Studies (FEMMSS) and the Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy (CSWIP) to be held at the University of Waterloo, August 10 to 13, 2014. FEMMSS is a multidisciplinary organization. This conference welcomes submissions from across the disciplines. We invite feminist papers, posters, panels, and workshops related to Science, Technology and Gender. Conference presentations are eligible for submission for consideration and review in a resulting anthology or special journal issue. Topics can include but need not be limited to:

9 June, 2014 - 12 June, 2014
All Day

Submissions are invited for the first meeting of SRPoiSE, to be held at the University of Waterloo, June 9-12, 2014. Paper abstracts, as well as proposals for panels, symposia, or workshops, are welcome and should be submitted to srpoise2014@uwaterloo.ca by March 1, 2014.

23 May, 2014 - 24 May, 2014
All Day

George Mason University, Fairfax VA

The Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at George Mason University invites papers for a workshop on values in science and science policy, broadly construed. The conference will be held on Mason’s Fairfax Campus in the Metro Washington, DC area on May 23-24.

Deadline for submissions is April 1.

21 May, 2014 - 23 May, 2014
All Day

Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo Ontario

How to structure science-policy interfaces to make the most of science has become an increasing international concern. This workshop will focus on three national cultures: Canada, the U.S. (United States), and the U.K. (United Kingdom), each of which are long-standing, stable democracies that value science as part of their national culture. Yet the differences among them are still palpable with respect to institutional structures, governance traditions, laws, and customs regarding science policy issues.

The workshop aims to provide a synoptic overview of science policy interfaces in these three cultures and will be held at the University of Waterloo, May 21 to 23, 2014.Space is currently wait-listed, if you are interested in attending please email Heather Douglas (hdouglas@uwaterloo.ca).

20 May, 2014 - 24 May, 2014
All Day

Center for Values in Medicine, Science, and Technology – The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson Texas

Science, technology, and medicine unquestionably have a major impact on our lives. We live with constant technological innovation and scientific discovery, and this changes the conditions that we live in, as well as the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. Science, technology, and medicine are thus entangled with our values, our culture, and our politics, and they have an important impact on policymaking and action.