Conferences and Workshops

STANDPOINT THEORY
Formation, Contestation and Legacy

An invitational workshop on the many legacies of standpoint theory, the state of current debate about its central claims within philosophy, and the prospects for building on its past contributions. Convened with the UBC-based Standpoint Theory working group: Alex Bryant, Karoline Paier, Emily Tilton.
     November 16-18, 2023
     Green College and the Department of Philosophy, University of British Columbia
     Standpoint Theory Working Group website

REASONABLE TRUST
Fostering Humanities Methods in Public Engagement with Science & Technology

A Research Cluster workshop and speaker series on pressing issues raised by limited public trust in science, even when the science is well established, in many areas where social action is urgently needed. Co-convened with Alan Richardson and Judy Segal, I was responsible for a three-lecture series on “Data science”
      January-February 2021
      Public Humanities Hub, University of British Columbia
      Reasonable Trust research cluster link       

REASONABLE TRUST
Fostering Humanities Methods in Public Engagement with Science & Technology

A Research Cluster workshop and speaker series on pressing issues raised by limited public trust in science, even when the science is well established, in many areas where social action is urgently needed. Co-convened with Alan Richardson and Judy Segal, I was responsible for a three-lecture series on “Data science”
      January-February 2021
      Public Humanities Hub, University of British Columbia
      Reasonable Trust research cluster link       

WORKING TOOLS
Community-Facing Data Management Platforms for Indigenous-University Partnerships
A weekly, online speaker series designed to explore the potential and limitations of diverse digital systems that mediate data-sharing among stakeholders and working groups – Indigenous scholars, communities, university and museum-based researchers – engaged in cultural heritage management and research in the Pacific NW region.
      Fall 2020
      Indigenous/Science Research Cluster and Green College, University of British Columbia
      Working Tools Seminar Series 

INDIGENOUS/SCIENCE: PARTNERSHIPS IN THE EXPLORATION OF HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENTS
A monthly seminar and lecture series that showcases projects dedicated to building equitable, respectful and transparent research partnerships with Indigenous communities. This is a project of the UBC-based Indigenous/Science initiative, the aim of which is to explore foundational questions about how, through community-engaged work, university-based researchers can act on the directives of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Co-convened with Eric Simons and with the support of colleagues in the Indigenous/Science network.
     September 2019 – April 2020
     Green College, University of British Columbia
     Indigenous/Science seminar series program

PSA2018 PUBLIC FORUM: “FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD? VALUES AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN AI AND DATA SCIENCE
A Public Forum sponsored by the Philosophy of Science Association at its 2018 biennial conference. As PSA vice-president I organized this public forum as a panel discussion of pressing issues raised by the ways in which Artificial intelligence (AI) and data-intensive science are transforming our lives. Panelists included several prominent philosophers of science who study data science and AI as well as the Director of Microsoft Research Labs.
     November 1, 2018
     Seattle Public Library
     Public Forum program | Video documentary

INDIGENOUS/SCIENCE WORKSHOP
A two-day working meeting convened by the UBC-based Indigenous/Science Research Cluster that brought together over 60 researchers and community partners. Our aim was to chart a path for the research cluster’s future, informed by Indigenous leaders and researchers who have experience working in partnerships that illustrate the challenges and benefits of collaboration.
     October 10, 2018
     Musqueam Cultural Education Resource Centre
     Indigenous/Science workshop

MATERIAL EVIDENCE: KNOWING THE PAST
A conference session co-organized with Alia Al-Saji for Evidence on Trial, for which we assembled presentations by philosophers, archaeologists, and science studies scholars on the complexities of putting material evidence to work in the context of research programs that typically rely on ‘interactive’ methods.
     July 12-14, 2015
     Durham University Institute for Advanced Study
     Conference website

PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ROUNDTABLE
An annual conference, initiated in St. Louis 1999 with Roundtable co-founders, Paul Roth and James Bohman. The Roundtable brings together an intellectually diverse and international community of philosophers and social scientists who share an interest in philosophical questions that arise in and about the social sciences. In 2011 the Roundtable met in Paris, and catalyzed the formation of the European Network for the Philosophy of Social Science (ENPOSS) which now meets annually in Europe; since 2013 the Roundtable has met jointly every second year with the European Network for Philosophy of Social Science. From its inception the journal Philosophy of the Social Sciences has published a selection of Roundtable papers as an annual special issue.
      Spring meetings – in North America and typically in March or April
      PoSS Roundtable website
      ENPOSS website

SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY IN QUESTION: ASSESSING THE ROLE OF HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENTISTS
A two-day workshop co-organized with Gaymon Bennett, sponsored by Biological Futures in a Globalized World and hosted by the Simpson Center for the Humanities, with support from the Center for Biological Futures (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center).
    November 13-14, 2012
    University of Washington, Seattle       
    Workshop description: PDF

MATERIAL CULTURE AS EVIDENCE
A one-day workshop co-organized with Robert Chapman, supported by the Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor program.
    June 4, 2010
    Department of Archaeology, Reading University
    Workshop program: PDF

CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT: ABORIGINAL AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITIES IN COLLABORATION 
A public panel organized for the conference, “Objectivity in Science: What is it? Why does it matter?”
    June 18, 2010
    University of British Columbia       
    Objectivity in Science

FEMINIST LEGACIES / FEMINIST FUTURES
Hypatia has been published as an independent journal of feminist philosophy since 1986; volume 25 appeared in 2010. In celebration of this significant anniversary, the editors of Hypatia and the Simpson Center for the Humanities hosted a major conference at the University of Washington to honor the accomplishments of Hypatia–its founders, editors, and contributors–and to consider where feminist philosophy is headed in the next 25 years.  
    October 22-24, 2009
    University of Washington
    Conference notice: The Philosopher’s Eye    
    Plenary sessions and interview with Hypatia Founders: podcasts
    Hypatia 25th Anniversary Special Issue | Virtual Issue

EXPANDING INTERDISCIPLINARITY FROM CAMPUS TO COMMUNITIES: EXPLORING INNOVATION IN COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
An exploratory workshop on strategies and epistemic implications of community-based collaborative research (CBPR) in community forestry, collaborative archaeology, and public health/genetics. Co-organized with Kelly Fryer-Edwards and sponsored by the Simpson Center for the Humanities.
    University of Washigton
    June 5-7, 2008

WHEN DIFFERENCE MAKES A DIFFERENCE: EPISTEMIC DIVERSITY AND DISSENT
EPISTEME: Journal of Social Epistemology
The 2006 annual Episteme conference co-organized with James Robert Brown (local arrangements) and Alvin Goldman (journal editor). A special issue of Episteme based on the proceedings of this conference appeared as Volume 3, Issues 1-2 (2006). 
    University of Toronto
    June 2-3, 2006
    Episteme website

WOMEN, WORK & THE ACADEMY: RESPONDING TO ‘POST-CIVIL RIGHTS ERA GENDER DISCRIMINATION
A public panel and working conference on workplace environment issues for women in the academy, co-organized with Janet Jakobsen and sponsored by the Gildersleeve Foundation and the Barnard Center for Research on Women. A conference report has been published in the BCRW series, New Feminist Solutions.
    Barnard College
    December 9-10, 2004 
    BCRW conference website
    Plenary panel with Nancy Hopkins, Claude Steel, Virginia Valian: video
    Conference report