The Department of Philosophy at the University of Washington, Seattle is proud to announce its upcoming graduate conference titled Values, Trust, and Reliability in Science to be held on the UW Seattle campus on May 13 and 14, 2027. This conference will focus on the various dimensions of science, including questions about explanation, methodology, theory change, and technological innovation. We are especially interested in proposals focusing on values in science, broadly construed.

We are enthusiastic to share that Kevin Elliott (Michigan State University) will be joining us in Seattle as our keynote speaker. Professor Elliott is known for his field-defining work in values in science and scientific communication. He has made major contributions to theories of the interaction between social values and science, as well asthe responsible management of those values. He is currently studying how the institutional environment of science can be integrated more deeply into scholarship on science and values; exploring the values served and threatened by methodological standardization in science; and examining strategies for managing values in science, especially in the environmental health sciences.

Graduate students are invited to submit abstracts of 250–500 words via this Google Form.

While we encourage abstracts relevant to Professor Elliott’s ongoing research, we welcome all submissions in philosophy of science. Please omit any self-identifying remarks within the body of the abstract. Abstracts should be submitted by Friday, December 11 2026. Acceptances will be announced in January.

This conference will have a pre-read format. As such, abstracts should be suitable for development into a paper of 4,000–10,000 words. Full papers are expected three weeks before the conference and will be circulated to attendees. Due to the conference’s pre-read format, your presentation should be 30 minutes, and focus on the core ideas of the paper without presenting it in its entirety.