Objectivity in Science
June 17-20, 2010
University of British Columbia
Over the past two decades questions have arisen regarding the
objectivity of specific projects in or fields of science: for example,
can we trust medical research when it is funded by pharmaceutical
companies? Or, whose research in climate science meets the standards
of scientific objectivity? Such questions have become important in
framing public debate about science and science policy. At the same
time, the objectivity of science has become an increasingly important
topic among historians and philosophers of science as well as
researchers in other fields in science and technology studies (STS)
such as sociology of science, rhetoric of science, and cultural
studies of science. This conference seeks to advance scholarly
perspectives on the objectivity of science by bringing them into
conversation with one another. The conference also asks whether and
how such scholarly perspectives on objectivity might or should inform
public debate. The conference will investigate, moreover, how the
specific concerns of scientists, science policy experts, science
journalists, and other groups might be made more salient in the
research of the STS community.
The goal of this conference, thus, is to provide a forum for STS
researchers of diverse disciplinary backgrounds, practicing
scientists, and other researchers to discuss and debate issues
concerning the nature of objectivity in science. A particular concern
will be to discuss how, when, and why questions of objectivity arise
within science, in science policy debates, and in public engagement
with science. In addition to conference sessions held during the day,
this conference will feature two evening panel discussions, open to
the public and focused on particular areas of research wherein the
issue of scientific objectivity is particularly salient. The public
panel discussions will focus on questions of objectivity in
collaborative aboriginal research and in research on harm reduction.
Confirmed keynote speakers include Professor Ian Hacking (University
of Toronto and the Collège de France) and Professor Naomi Oreskes
(University of California at San Diego).
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
We welcome individual paper and panel submissions related to the theme
of scientific objectivity.
Proposals for papers should include author information (including
email address), paper title, and an abstract of no more than 500
words. Speakers will have 30 minutes to present and discuss their
work.
Proposals for panel sessions should include the name of the panel
organizer (including email), a brief description of the panel, author
information, paper titles, and abstracts for each paper. Panel
sessions will be ninety minutes in duration, including discussion
time.
Program Committee: Alan Richardson (UBC), Robert Brain (UBC), Candis
Callison (UBC), Lesley Cormack (Simon Fraser University), Flavia
Padovani (UBC), and Jonathan Tsou (Iowa State University).
The deadline for paper and panel submissions is December 1, 2009.
Please email submissions to Dani Hallet at: objectivity2010@gmail.com
The Objectivity in Science Conference is sponsored by the Situating
Science Cluster Grant: www.situsci.ca
--
Jonathan Y. Tsou
Assistant Professor of Philosophy | Iowa State University |
http://sites.google.com/site/jytsou/
