TALK: Socially relevant philosophy of science: Engaging controversy in behavioral genetics and evolutionary psychology

The HPS-Policy group at the IHPST, The University of Toronto, presents a talk by Carla Fehr and Katie Plaisance on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Title:
Socially relevant philosophy of science: Engaging controversy in behavioral genetics and evolutionary psychology

Abstract:
This talk is part of a broader research program on Making Philosophy of Science More Socially Relevant, in which we argue that doing socially relevant philosophy of science with respect to a broad range of sciences, from climate change to genomics to the study of human behavior, leads to benefits for philosophers, scientists, and society. In the spirit of this program, we identify a problem with philosophy of science as it is currently practiced: a lack of effective engagement with controversial science, which we define as research that has the capacity to impact public policy or culture in ways that can cause harm to marginalized or vulnerable groups of people. In this talk, we argue that in order for philosophy of science, as a community, to have an impact on controversial science, some community members must engage with scientists in a meaningful and critical way; furthermore, we believe that there are good ethical and practical reasons for doing so.

Extension to Early Registration Date for EASST010 Conference

Practicing Science and Technology, Performing the Social

THE HUMANITIES BETWEEN CONSTRUCTIVISM AND BIOLOGISM - September 16-17, 2010

THE HUMANITIES BETWEEN CONSTRUCTIVISM AND BIOLOGISM

THE HUMANITIES BETWEEN CONSTRUCTIVISM AND BIOLOGISM

STS post-doc position at Humboldt University Berlin

STS/Ethnography post-doc Position at Humboldt University Berlin (36 months) For the research project “The production of chronicity in the everyday practices of psychiatric care and research in Berlin” funded by the German Research Foundation the Department of European Ethnology at Humboldt University is looking to hire a post-doc researcher with a background in STS/anthropology. The project runs for 36 months and will focus on a social anthropology of the medical system, namely psychiatric care of patients who have been diagnosed as ‘chronically’ ill. Medical practices of classification will be investigated ethnographically as well as situated within current ethnographic science and technology studies, in order to better understand their impact on “being chronically ill” in everyday life. The core of the project comprises a series of ethnographic engagements with psychiatric care and research, complementary institutions of care and work as well as the private everyday life of those concerned. The project is part of the ‘Laboratory: Social Anthropology and Lifesciences’ (http://www.euroethno.hu-berlin.de/forschung/labore/lebenswissenschaft) at the Department of European Ethnology. We thus expect the successful candidate to actively and sustainably contribute to research and teaching in this laboratory and beyond.

Requirements: The successful candidate holds a PhD in a relevant subject area as well as considerable ethnographic experience, particularly in fieldwork and qualitative interviewing techniques. A sufficient grasp of the German language (or at least a plausible plan how to improve it) to do fieldwork in medical settings as well as with patients in Berlin is necessary. Also essential is the willingness to engage with the intersection of anthropology and psychiatry not merely as a distant observer. Experience in and knowledge of science and technology studies as well as the field of psychiatric care is an advantage.

e-Science 2010 deadline approaching

CALL FOR PAPERS

http://www.escience2010.org/

Scientific research is increasingly carried out by communities of researchers that span disciplines, laboratories, organizations, and national boundaries. The e-Science 2010 conference is designed to bring together leading international and interdisciplinary research communities, developers, and users of e-Science applications and enabling IT technologies. The conference serves as a forum to present the results of the latest research and product/tool developments and to highlight related activities from around the world.

Building on last year’s emphasis, we are particularly interested in advances in the application of technology in a particular discipline. Accordingly, significant advances in practice will be considered as important as the development of new technologies themselves. Further, we welcome contributions in educational activities under any of these disciplines.

Workshop Reminder: Personal Identities, Embodiments and Environments

(Apologies for cross-posting)

Workshop Reminder: Personal Identities, Embodiments And Environments

Central Committee Room, MacLaurin Building University of Hertfordshire, UK 02/07/2010

10am: Welcome, tea, coffee

10.30: Keynote talk: Professor Galen Strawson (University of Reading): We Live Beyond Any Tale We Happen to Enact

12-12.15: Break

12.15: Andreas Paraskeveides (Edinburgh): Real Agency in Virtual Worlds

13.00: Lunch (own arrangements)

14.00: Tomas Bogardus (UT Austin): Presence at a Distance

14.45: Heidi Tiedke (Maryland): Persons and Their Lives

15.30-15.45: Break

15.45: Rory Madden (UCL): Animalism, Artificial Persons and Virtual Embodiment

16.30: Keynote talk: Professor Eric Olson (Sheffield): Personal Identity

Workshop in Manchester

Politics of Design

24-25 June 2010

Manchester, UK
Organised by the Manchester Architecture Research Centre

In the last decade numerous STS trained scholars engaged in a venture of unpacking design practices. Yet, to study the practical course of design means to be simultaneously involved in the subject of politics and in the particular sort of politics that is centred on objects (Latour & Weibel, Making Things Public). Recent studies in political philosophy and STS have argued that politics is not limited anymore to citizens, elections, votes, petitions, ideologies and particular institutionalised conflicts (DeVries, What is Political in Sub-politics?), and have reformulated the question of politics into one of cosmopolitics (Stengers, Cosmopolitics; Latour, Politics of Nature) and ontological politics (Mol, Actor Network Theory and After). The “political” is not defined as a way of codifying particular forms of contestation but as opening up new sites and objects of contestation (Barry, Political Machines).

CFP - How Matter Matters: Objects, Artifacts and Materiality in Organization Studies

CFP

Please distribute widely,

WORKSHOP: MIRROR CODES FOR SOCIAL INTERACTIONS

28–29 June 2010, Villa Orlandi, Capri Workshop Mirror Codes for Social Interactions