[PhilPhys] Call for Abstracts: Science and its Publics - June 15th, 2013, Toronto, Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST)

[HAPSAT]

The debates and outcomes of scientific research have often had consequences
for the wider public, both in terms of the way that scientific ideas
interact with lay beliefs and the way that technological development
changes different forms of social living.  The interaction between science
and the public is by no means unidirectional either, as funding,
institutional support, and direction for many research endeavours is
integrated with wider social structures.  Shifting public sentiments and
modes of social living, therefore, will often affect the character of
scientific research as much as scientific development will affect society
as a whole.  Far from being an abstract philosophical point about the place
of intellectual endeavours in human society, the relations between modern
science and society can be studied historically.  Looking at Darwin's ideas
on speciation and their relation to Victorian society, the political
impetus behind the Moon Landing, and the way that biotechnology has changed
human narratives about the self, scientific endeavours and public interests
can be seen to be importantly intertwined yet fairly well distinguishable.

Scientific research, more or less by necessity, is something carried out
mainly by a specific community of researchers.  Although the scientific
community is larger than ever before, the boundary between experts and
active researchers and the wider public remains quite clear and distinct.
The roles of science in public life, and public life in scientific
research, present many questions for historians and philosophers of
science.  How have public attitudes towards and influence upon scientific
research shifted over time?  How can the social and intellectual lines
between scientists and non-scientists be best delineated throughout
history?  Is there a proper role for science in public life?  Is there a
proper role for public interests in influencing scientific research?
 The conference keynote will be given by Dr. John Durant from MIT's STS
department.  His earlier research was in the history of evolutionary and
behavioral biology, with special reference to debates about animal nature
and human nature in the late-19th and 20th centuries. More recently,
however, he has undertaken sociological research on the public dimensions
of science and technology. He is especially interested in public
perceptions of the life sciences and biotechnology, in the role of public
consultation in science and technology policy-making, and in the role of
informal media (especially museums) in facilitating public engagement with
science and technology. He is the founder editor of the quarterly peer
review journal, *Public Understanding of Science,* and the author and
editor of numerous books, essay collections and scholarly articles in the
history and the public understanding of science. (from his MIT website -
http://web.mit.edu/sts/people/durant.html)

We welcome submissions on any historical or philosophical topic related to
this theme of "Science and its Publics."  To submit please send an abstract
of no more than 300 words to curtis.forbes at utoronto.ca by April 15th 2013,
with the subject line "Science and its Publics - Conference Submission."
Notifications of acceptance will be sent out within two weeks.
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