CFP: DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL MARCH 30 Investigating transhumanisms and their narratives

CALL FOR PAPERS

INDIVIDUAL COMMUNICATIONS, PANELS, WORKSHOPS

20, 21and 22June2018

International Conference

“Investigating transhumanisms and their narratives”

With the participation of Bernard Stiegler,  Stefan Lorenz Sorgner,...

Deadline for paper, panels, or workshop proposals:

19 February 2017

ETHICS(EA7446)

Ethics and Transhumanism Chair

Lille Catholic University

INTRODUCTION TO THE CONFERENCE

Starting Wednesday June 20th and until Friday June 22nd 2018, the first International Conference on the study of transhumanist movements, entitled ‘Investigating Transhumanisms and their Narratives’ (please see the synopsis below) will be hosted by the Ethics and Transhumanism Chair of Lille Catholic University, under the sponsorship of the Hauts-de-France regional authority. The event will be the first international conference on transhumanism(s) organised in France by the first French university research chair especially devoted to the study of transhumanism and its societal and ethical challenges.

The common theme running through this year’s conference will be narratives used by transhumanists, as well as by those outside the field trying to interpret transhumanism and capture its meanings. What do transhumanists tell us and what do we say about them? What lies behind such stories? What are the interests, fears, and questions fueling their narratives? Beyond simply looking ahead, the transhumanist imagination also moves us to try anticipating its most far-reaching outcomes. What is the meaning of such speculation?

The overall conference programme has been set (please see below). The originality of the event lies in its mix of traditional academic components (talks, symposiums, panels, among others ) with an added interactive learning reach for some of its activities (audience-focused scientific workshops, participatory forums, ‘predictive justice’ debating, public discussion of a cult film, a transhumanism-themed escape game, and others). The conference is organised in such way that it will enable audiences to intermingle, combining the ambition and usual components of a high-level academic event and a thought-provoking off-conference range of artistic and cultural activities (a performance on the theme of transhumanism, an artist’s talk, a music festival in Lille in the evening, among others).

The conference’s international characterwill be prominently displayed by the wide national diversity of attendants and keynote speakers. The conference’s scientific committee displays a similar national diversity as it brings together twenty researchers belonging to French and foreign universities. Simultaneous translation for English and French will be provided for the main talks, and for activities of an artistic and cultural nature.

An especially congenial conference location. Because of its history and the scope of its Grandes Écoles and faculties since its foundation, Lille Catholic University has fostered a multidisciplinary debate on the relations between society, science, and technology. It offers high quality operational facilities. Recently ranked as the second most beautiful university in France, Lille Catholic University is also ideally located in one of the most beautiful neighbourhoods of the capital of French Flanders. Due to its regional, national, and European location, the city of Lille benefits as well from ease of access with direct road, air, and high-speed train connections to London, Paris, Brussels, and further afield. The city of Lille displays remarkable architectural, artistic, and cultural appeal. During the conference, attendants will be able to stroll the city streets to the beat of a music festival being in full swing at the time.

CALL FOR PAPERS, PANELS, WORKSHOPS, AND IMPORTANT DEADLINES

Contributions (in French or English) may include:

-       Individual paper proposals (20minutes). Individual proposals(400words) include a presentation of the topic, issue, working hypothesis, method of investigation, empirical or theoretical data analysed, and main bibliographical references.

-       A panel consisting of 3 to 6 papers (20 minutes per paper) organised around the same theme. Panel proposals include proposals for individual papers (400 words) from the speakers and a general presentation (800 words) on the panel topic, the specific issue, and its implications.

-       A participatory workshop (1 h 30 min max.) to allow researchers, professionals and the audience to exchange questions on a specific issue.Workshop proposals (800 words max.) include a presentation of the chosen pedagogical framework and logistical support required, the workshop facilitators, the intended objectives, and the expected audience.

Topics (non-exhaustive list):

Theoretical/fundamental approaches

Transhumanism(s) history and histories / Future, Foresight, and Transhumanism/ Sociology of the transhumanist movement / Economy, work and transhumanism / Philosophy, ethics and transhumanism / Theology, religions, and transhumanism / Contemporary imaginations and transhumanism / Criticisms of transhumanism / Posthumanism and transhumanism / Technophilia, technophobia, techne crisis? / Philosophy of technology and transhumanism / Scienceandtranshumanism / Economyand transhumanism / Defence and transhumanism / Personal identityand transhumanism / Democracyand transhumanism / Workand transhumanism / Science fiction literatureand transhumanism / Cinemaand transhumanism / TV seriesand transhumanism / New alterities: robot,cyborg,prostheses, etc.

Applied approaches/ Analysis of practices

Education, new technologies and intelligence(s) / Automation, langage and cultural innovation / New generation of prostheses, hybridization, and subjectification / Interactions between human agents and artificial agents / Anthropotechnical practices and enhancement technologies / Defence, robotics and the enhanced soldier / Ethics and automated vehicles / Automated objects ethics, design, and policies / Digital health, therapeutic education, and ethics of care / Digital revolution, right to privacy, and security / Neuromarketing, freedom, and ethics of attention / Education and new technologies

Deadline for paper, panels, or workshop proposals:

19 February 2017

Submit proposals at: www.ethconference2018.com (the site will be available from30November 2017)

Authors will be notified of the Scientific Committee’s decisions on 20March2018