SPT newsletter
 

Volume 26, Number 3 (Fall 2002)
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Contents

  • Letter from the President
  • SPT XIII 2nd Call-For-Papers
  • Events Future and Past
  • CFPs
  • Call for Applicants
  • From the Editors
  • A Note On Dues

 

Letter from the President

Dear SPT Members:

I hope this message finds you all enjoying a new semester. The work of the society continues apace as we look forward to an exciting new academic year and a host of activities.

Most important is our next international conference, July 7-9, 2003 in Park City, Utah. This is a spectacular location in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Those considering attending may wish to plan to bring friends and families for pre- or post-conference trips through the region. A full call for papers can be found later in this newsletter, though do keep in mind that abstracts must reach Paul Thompson, SPT Vice President and conference program chair, by November 30, 2002. I’m sure you will agree that the conference theme, "Technology and Global Society," gets more and more important with each day. Papers on biotechnology, information technology, global institutions and the environment, and other relevant issues are strongly encouraged. But, as with our last conference, we welcome submission of papers and panels on any aspect of philosophy of technology. The last international conference organized by the society in Aberdeen, Scotland in July 2001 was a great success with over 150 participants. Early indications are that we will have a similar response to this conference so make sure you get your submissions in on time.

Before the Park City conference, SPT will sponsor two important sessions at the Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in late December in Philadelphia. One session will be an author-meets-critics panel on Don Ihde’s new book Bodies in Technology (Minnesota, 2002) and a second, organized by Rachelle Hollander, will focus on ethics and plant biotechnology. Again, a full listing of these sessions can be found later in the newsletter. We hope that the breadth of these sessions helps to again represent the broad horizons of the society while it continues to serve as a host for more traditional work in the field.

Before closing, some important announcements. First, I am pleased to report that the society has appointed a new newsletter editor, Peter-Paul Verbeek of the University of Twente in The Netherlands. Peter-Paul is one of the most innovative and evocative of the new philosophers of technology to come out of Holland in recent years. We welcome not only his fresh energy for this position, but also the opportunity to more greatly expand our European membership which has grown considerably since the Aberdeen conference.

Second, in turn I wish to thank Joe Pitt for his steadfast and excellent stewardship of the newsletter for the past several years. Joe has set the standard of how to make this newsletter a vital part of the life of the society and the larger philosophical community. I cannot thank him enough both for his work in this capacity and personally for helping me appreciate the responsibilities of this job. I’ll miss working with him regularly on this publication but know that his time will be spent well in the next few years taking advantage of the exciting possibilities that present themselves now at Virginia Tech to strengthen its status as one of the premiere places to work in this field.

Third, a special thanks here as well to Tom Burke at the University of South Carolina, who has put in much time upgrading and improving our website (www.spt.org). Together with Davis Baird, editor of our electronic journal and also at South Carolina, we have a presence on the web now that we can be proud of.

Finally, I am pleased to announce, for those who do not know, that our treasurer Diane Michelfelder has just started a new position as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana State University. Congratulations to Diane and best wishes. It’s good to have friends in high places!

Other work on expanding our journal to include a print version and other initiatives will be reported soon. For now though I hope to see many of you at the Philadelphia APA and especially at the Utah meeting next summer. In the mean time, have a productive, safe, and happy year.

Very Best,

Andrew Light, SPT President

New York University

andrew.light@nyu.edu

 

 

SPT XIII: 2nd Call for Papers

13th meeting of the Society for

Philosophy and Technology

July 7, 8 and 9, 2003

Park City, Utah

Conference Theme:

"Technology and Global Society"

The Society for Philosophy and Technology has sponsored conferences on philosophical aspects of technology since the late 1970s.  Current conferences are held every other year, rotating between North America and Europe.  The Society welcomes a broad range of papers from various philosophical perspectives and schools. This year, the program committee especially invites submissions on the following topics:

"Security and Information Systems"

"Biotechnology, Trade and Development"

"Democracy, Trust and Global Institutions"

"The Global Village Revisited"

"Technology and Environment"

"Technology, Sport and the Olympics Movement"

Submissions on all aspects of philosophy and technology are always welcome.

Submissions may be made with an abstract of between 200 and 400 words. Electronic submissions in a standard word-processing or Adobe format may be forwarded to: pault@purdue.edu

Abstracts in triplicate may also be mailed to:

Paul B. Thompson

Program Chair, SPT XIII

Philosophy Department

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN 47907-1360

Submission Deadline: All abstracts must be submitted by November 30, 2002. Notification of acceptance will be made by February 10, 2003. Persons interested in serving as respondents or chairing sessions should contact Paul Thompson at the e-mail address listed above.

Final papers for the program should not be more that 12 pages, double-spaced. Completed papers will be required by May 1, 2003 in order to provide respondents with ample time for preparing remarks.

Park City, at an elevation of 7,000 feet (2100 meters), is a small historic mining town located in the heart of Utah’s Rocky Mountains. In the 2002 Olympics, its mountains provided an ideal setting for the Alpine competitions of ski jumping, luge, moguls, snowboarding, and Alpine skiing. In the summer, Park City also offers an ideal environment for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and swimming.

The conference site for the 2003 SPT meetings will be at the Lodges in Deer Valley, Park City, approximately 35 miles east of the Salt Lake City International Airport. Both airport transportation to the Lodges and car rental agencies are available at the airport. Free shuttle bus service from the Lodges to Park City’s Old Town --with its numerous restaurants, art galleries, a brew pub and other clubs --will also be available.

Check the SPT website (www.spt.org) for conference updates.

Forthcoming Events

Hagley Research Seminar Series 2002-2003 Sept. 19, Ben Fine, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London"Cluttered Landscapes of Consumption: An Economist’s Gaze"; Oct. 10, John Giggie, University of Texas-San Antonio "Tracking Jesus: Railroads, Ex-Slaves and the Transformation of Black Religion in the American South, 1865-1917"; Nov. 14, Catherine Fisk, Loyola Law School "A Free Labor Ideology for the Ingenious Tinkerer: Class and the Ownership of Intellectual Property in the Employment Relation, 1890-1930"; Dec. 12, Steven Mihm, New York University "Ghosts in the Machine: Counterfeiters, Bank Notes, and the Industrialization of Engraving in Antebellum America" ; Jan. 9, Kevin Borg, James Madison University "Tinkering with Socio-technical Hierarchies: Reconfiguring Automobiles and Recreating Mechanics, 1918-1940"; Feb. 13, Roberta M. Moudry, Cornell University "The Corporate and the Civic: Metropolitan Life’s Home Office"; March 13, Matt Roth, University of Southern California and Automobile Club of Southern California "The Last New Deal Project: Entrepreneurial Bureaucrats and the Creation of the Los Angeles Freeway Network, 1939-1944"; April 10, Reggie Blaszczyk, Chemical Heritage Foundation "Color Rx: Tales of Color and Fashion from the Modern Era"; May 8, 2003, Joy Parr, Simon Fraser University "National Cultures of Risk: Radiation Protection in Nuclear Industries."

Seminars commence at 6:30 p.m., preceded by an informal half-hour reception, and take place in the Copeland Room of Hagley’s Library building. Papers are distributed in advance. To join the seminar mailing list contact the Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society at the address below, or email Carol Lockman at crl@udel.edu.

News from the Eastern Division

The SPT will hold two sessions in conjunction with the Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association, December 27-30, 2002, Philadelphia Marriott Hotel. Send any questions regarding these sessions to Andrew Light (andrew.light@nyu.edu.)

Session One:  Ethics and Plant Biotechnology

Saturday, December 28, 11:15-1:15 p.m.

Marriott Room 413

Hugh Lacey (Swarthmore College)

"Transgenic Crops:  The Structure of the Ethical Controversy"

David Magnus (University of Pennsylvania)
"A Bioethical Framework for Genetically Engineered Plants"

Rachelle Hollander (National Science Foundation)

"Exploring Social Genomics:  The Role of the US National Science Foundation"

Chair:  Andrew Light  (New York University)

Session Two:  Author Meets Critics: Bodies in Technology, by Don Ihde

Saturday, December 28, 5:15-7:15 p.m.

Marriott Room 403

Critics:

Andrew Feenberg (San Diego State University)

Melissa Clarke (Texas A&M University)

Response by Don Ihde (SUNY Stony Brook)

Chair:  Paul Thompson (Purdue University)

News from the Central Division

The SPT session at the Central Division APA in April 2002 was on animal cloning. We had presentations from Gary Varner, Diane Michelfelder and William Wilcox. There was a lively discussion from the small audience. Members who would like to participate at the 2003 APA Central Division as presenters, discussants or session chairs should contact Paul Thompson: pault@purdue.edu

 

CFPs

"Discovering the Nanoscale," March 20-23, 2003 at the University of South Carolina,  Columbia, and October 10-12, 2003 at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany.

Philosophers, historians, sociologists of science and technology are invited to submit proposals  concerning the significance of nanoscale research. This includes issues of reduction, complexity, self-organization, the possibility of self-replicating assemblers, size as a causal property, or the hierarchical organization of matter. The dramatic shift to nanoscale research in recent years also raises questions concerning multi-, inter- or transdisciplinary research and the very idea of "technoscience." The history of nanoscale research looks very different from the perspectives of chemistry and of miniaturization technology, but at any rate depends crucially on the development of instrumental access to the nanoscale (atomic force vs. electron microscopy). Finally, to the extent that nanoscale and related research may signal a new stage in the history of science, there may arise along with this a qualitatively different set of environmental, ethical, and policy issues.

The discussions will begin in Columbia, SC and continue six months later in Darmstadt, Germany. 500-word proposals can be submitted to either or both meetings (the second conference allows for the presentation of substantially revised or expanded drafts). Send electronic submissions (pdf or RichText formats) by December 1, 2002 to Alfred Nordmann, <Nordmann@phil.tu-darmstadt.de>. For more detailed information concerning topic and format see www.cas.sc.edu/Phil/scistud/call.html.

 

The Economic & Business Historical Society welcomes proposals for presentations on all aspects of business and economic history at its 28th annual conference at Memphis, Tennessee, April 24-26, 2003. Composed of some three hundred North American and international members, the Economic & Business Historical Society offers participants an opportunity for continuing intellectual interchange within a modest-sized, collegial, and interdisciplinary group. In keeping with its traditions, the Society seeks proposals for both individual papers and panel sessions. Graduate students are invited to apply and may qualify for reduced registration fees. The Society holds its annual convention in locations of historical significance. Both the annual membership ($25) and conference registration fees are modest. Papers presented at the conference may be submitted for publication in the Society’s peer-reviewed journal, Essays in Economic and Business History, edited by Michael V. Namorato of the University of Mississippi. Proposals for individual papers should include an abstract of no more than 500 words, a brief CV, postal and email addresses, and telephone and fax numbers. Panel proposals should also suggest a title and a panel chair. Graduate students and nonacademic affiliates are welcome. Submissions imply that at least one author will register for the conference and be present at the time designated in the conference program. The deadline for submission is 15 January 2003. Proposals may be submitted sent by email to jpr2@psu.edu , or mail to: John Paul Rossi, Penn State Erie, Behrend College, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Station Road, Erie, PA.

 

Virginia Tech STS Workshop 2003

The Graduate Students of Virginia Tech’s Center for Science and Technology Studies are hosting a workshop on Friday and Saturday, 28-29 March 2003, tentatively entitled "Technologies/Moralities: The Ethical Grammar of Technological Systems."  The workshop’s theme revolves around the intersections (or dual tracks) of morality and technology, and what people can do about them. Thus, we have a two-fold premise: one, that addressing contemporary articulations of the morality-technology conjunction is necessary; and two, that our own science studies work must theorize and inform the subject in a meaningful (publicly inclusive) way.

Science studies discourse opens up a field of questions that needs to be addressed by and for a wide audience.  For this workshop, we encourage papers that focus on technologies with emerging (or already emergent) social prevalence, such as: biotechnology, information technology, so-called alternative technologies… And which deal with these and related questions: how do technological systems contain ethical agendas? how do they alter and obscure them? in what ways can we articulate how today’s technical choices become tomorrow’s ethical imperatives? what voice do/ should publics have in these discourses? The impetus for creating this forum is to expand the academic discourse on these issues towards the larger public realm.  (Note that the means by which social relevance can be achieved will be one topic for debate.)

Guest scholars for the workshop include: Andrew Feenberg (SDSU), Deborah Johnson (U.Va.) and Brian Martin (U. of Wollongong).

Abstracts due:  15 October 2002 (for notification by 1 December)

Please consult our webpage for a more comprehensive workshop prospectus at www.cis.vt.edu/sts/workshop2003.html.  At this website you can find more detail about possible topics (such as biotechnological systems, IT, activism as a technology, techniques of STS engaging popular discourse), about the discussion format, and about updates on workshop participants.


We encourage contributions from a wide array of disciplines and from scholars at all stages of their careers.  Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words and a one-page c.v. (electronic submissions encouraged) along with any questions to the address below.  Note that papers will be pre-circulated (by mid-February) to other participants in your session, so paper proposers should plan to have a working draft of a (10-16 page) paper available by that time.

Send abstracts to: (via e-mail) sts_grad2003@vt.edu, or (via snail mail):

Technologies/Moralities Workshop, c/o Benjamin Cohen
131 Lane Hall (0227), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061

Call for Applicants

The Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology invites applications to its two fellowship programs for the academic year 2003-2004: the Senior Fellows Program and the Postdoctoral Fellows Program.

Some twenty-five Dibner Fellows are resident at the Institute each year. The Dibner Institute is an international center for advanced research in the history of science and technology, established in 1992. It draws on the resources of the Burndy Library, a major collection of both primary and secondary material in the history of science and technology, and enjoys the participation in its programs of faculty members and students from the universities that make up the Dibner Institute’s consortium: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the host institution; Boston University; and Harvard University.

Senior Fellows Program. Candidates for Senior Fellowships should have advanced degrees in disciplines relevant to their research and show evidence of substantial scholarly accomplishment and professional experience. Senior Fellows may apply for a second fellowship appointment five years after their first successful application. Scholars may apply to the Senior Fellows program for the Fall (Term 1), the Spring (Term 2) or both. Term 1 extends from August 1 through December 31, with full activities beginning on September 1; Term 2 extends from January 1 through May 31, with full activities beginning the second half of January. At the time of application, Term 1 candidates may request an arrival date in August; Term 2 candidates may request an extension into June. The Institute prefers that Senior Fellows apply for a two-term, full-year residency if possible.

Postdoctoral Fellows Program. Fellowships are awarded to outstanding scholars of diverse countries of origin who have received the Ph.D. or equivalent within the previous five years. Postdoctoral Fellowships run for one year, from September 1 through August 25, and may be extended for a second and final year at the discretion of the Dibner Institute.

Terms and Conditions. All Dibner Institute Fellows are expected to reside in the Cambridge/Boston area during the terms of their grants, to participate in the activities of the Dibner Institute community, and to present their work once during their fellowship appointments. Fellowships provide office space, support facilities and full privileges at the Burndy Library and at the libraries of consortium universities. Fellows will have access to the entire spectrum of activities that take place at the Dibner Institute, where they will be able to find the resources and appropriate settings to carry on their work. Information about living expenses and the annual Dibner stipend is provided with the application forms. The deadline for receipt of applications for 2003-2004 is December 31, 2002. Fellowship recipients will be announced in March, 2003. Please send requests for further information to: Trudy Kontoff, Program Coordinator, Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology, MIT E56-100, 38 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139. Telephone: 617. 253.6989 Facsimile: 617. 253.9858 E-mail: dibner@mit.edu Website: http://dibinst.mit.edu

The National Humanities Center offers 40 residential fellowships for advanced study. Applicants must hold doctorate or have equivalent scholarly credentials, and a record of publication is expected. Both senior and younger scholars are eligible for fellowships, but the latter should be engaged in research other than the revision of a doctoral dissertation. Fellowships are for the academic year (September through May). Scholars from any nation and humanistically inclined individuals from the natural and social sciences, the arts, the professions, and public life, as well as from all fields of the humanities, are eligible.Areas of Special Interest. Most of the Center’s fellowships are unrestricted. The following designated awards, however, are available for the academic year 2003-04: three fellowships for scholars in any humanistic field whose research concerns religion or theology; a fellowship in art history or visual culture; a fellowship for French history or culture; a fellowship in Asian Studies.Stipends. Fellowships up to $50,000 are individually determined, the amount depending upon the needs of the Fellow and the Center’s ability to meet them. The Center provides travel expenses for Fellows and their dependents to and from North Carolina. Facilities and Services. Located in the Research Triangle Park of North Carolina, near Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh, the Center provides an environment for individual research and the exchange of ideas among scholars. Its facilities include private studies for Fellows, conference rooms, a central commons for dining, lounges, reading areas, a reference library, and a Fellows’ workroom with microfilm reader, laser printers, scanners, fax machine, access to electronic catalogues, e-mail, and the World Wide Web. The library staff orders and delivers books and research materials for Fellows. The Center’s staff also provides editorial and software assistance and support for information technology. The Center locates suitable housing for Fellows in the neighboring communities.Support. Fellowships are supported by the Center’s endowment, by private foundation grants, and by the National Endowment for the Humanities.Deadline and Application Procedures. Applicants submit the Center’s form supported by a curriculum vitae, a 1000-word project proposal, and three letters of recommendation. You may request application material from Fellowship Program, National Humanities Center, Post Office Box 12256, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-2256, or obtain the form and instructions from the Center’s website. Applications and letters of recommendation must be postmarked by October 15, 2002. Web site: http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us Email: nhc@ga.unc.edu. The National Humanities Center does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national or ethnic origin, handicap, sexual orientation, or age.

From the Editors

I am pleased to report that the Newsletter will have a new Editor effective the next issue, Peter-Paul Verbeek from Twente University in Enschede. As the Newsletter moves across the pond, we welcome the opportunity for greater insight into European perspectives on the philosophy of technology.

The work of the Newsletter depends heavily on input from the membership. I am sure our new editor will continue to welcome announcements and informative communications from around the world. But unless you let the Editor know what is going on, it will be difficult for the Newsletter to be the information organ of SPT.

Ben, Andrew, and I wish to thank everyone who has supported us over the last four years. We look forward to being of further serve to SPT in the future.

Joe Pitt

 

Newsletter Affairs

Send inquiries about and information for The Newsletter to:

Peter-Paul Verbeek, Editor
Twente University
E-mail: P.P.C.C.Verbeek@wmw.utwente.nl

The Newsletter has been published by Joseph C. Pitt and Benjamin Cohen, at Virginia Tech. Forthcoming issues will be published by Peter-Paul Verbeek from Twente University.


SPT Membership

SPT welcomes as members persons from all countries whose professional interests include philosophically significant considerations of technology. Membership is open to those who have an advanced degree (typically but not necessarily in philosophy), to those who are in a technological field, and to students whose work is in keeping with the interests of the Society. Dues are $20US per year, which includes a subscription to the SPT Newsletter (dues for students are $15US, and gratis for people in developing nations).

 


New ways to pay your dues
[From Noam Cook]

Payment of SPT dues is now being handled by the Philosophy Documentation Center. Dues can be paid by cheque, money order or credit card (VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER). Payments by any of these methods can be sent to the address below. Credit card payments can also be made by fax or over the phone via the numbers below. (For credit card payments include card number and expiration date).

Society for Philosophy and Technology
Philosophy Documentation Center
P.O. Box 7147
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7147 USA

Tel. (toll free from the US & Canada)
800 444 2419
Tel. (from anywhere) 434 220 3300
Fax: 434 220 3301

 

 

SPT Officers

President:

Andrew Light, New York University

Vice President/President-Elect:

Paul Thompson, Purdue University

Past President:

Deborah Johnson, University of Virginia

Secretary:

Noam Cook, San Jose State

Treasurer:

Diane Michelfelder, Utah State University

Executive Board:

Yoko Arisaka, Philip Brey, Anne Johnson, Peter Kroes, Landgon Winner

Techné Editor:

Davis Baird, University of South Carolina

Web Master:

Tom Burke, University of South Carolina


 
 
  
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