CFP: Feminism & Technology

CFP: Feminism & Technology Conference

School of English, Communication and Philosophy,

Cardiff University, 3rd- 4th December 2018

Technology is changing the way humans relate to the world and to each other at an ever-increasing rate. While many of the changes are positive, the infiltration of technology into almost every aspect of human life and the potential for its misuse raise serious questions. An important dimension of such considerations concerns the impact of emerging technologies on feminism.

While the question of feminist technology has been recently raised within the field of technology studies, and feminist philosophers have attended to problems posed by specific technologies, such as reproductive technologies, broader philosophical questions concerning the nature and scope of technology’s challenges for feminism have yet to receive the sustained, critical attention they deserve. In recognition of this gap in the philosophical literature, this conference aims to bring together scholars working in feminist philosophy, philosophy of technology, technoscience, philosophy of mind and epistemology in order to facilitate a new and productive exchange between them.

Confirmed Speakers: 

Cecilia Åsberg (Linköping University)

Luna Dolezal (University of Exeter)

Raya Jones (Cardiff University)

Alessandra Tanesini (Cardiff University)

Aidan Tynan (Cardiff University)

Joel Walmsley (University College Cork)

Organisers: 

Mary Edwards (Cardiff University)

S. Orestis Palermos (Cardiff University)

Submission Guidelines:

Papers for 30-minute presentations (4,000 words max) with abstracts (500 words max), in Word document format, should be prepared for blind review (together with a separate cover sheet, which includes the author’s name and contact details) and emailed to: [email protected] by 12:00 noon on 17th September 2018. Please also inform the organisers in your covering email if you would like to be considered for a Postgraduate Bursary.

The conference organizers intend to collect and publish the best conference presentations in a special issue, possibly of Philosophy and Technology. All successful candidates will receive detailed feedback from the respondents and their papers will be considered for inclusion in the special issue.

We welcome proposals from a range of disciplines including feminist philosophy, philosophy of technology, philosophy of mind and epistemology, politics, gender studies, technoscience, cultural studies, social science, and other relevant disciplines. Interdisciplinary studies are encouraged as well as proposals for co-presentations. Possible topics may include but are byno means limited to:

·      What is a ‘feminist philosophy of technology’? What should it be?

·      How are masculinist, racist, ablest, heterosexist, ageist, etc., biases hard-wired into digital technologies?

·      Is the mediation of technology detrimental to the flourishing of authentic human relationships?

·      What is the ethical status of virtual others? Do we have a duty to care for androids/robots/non-animal others?

·      What are the implications of the increased access to virtual representations of women’s sexualized/subordinated bodies for real women?

·      Could the growing power and presence of surveillance technologies, data mining, and social networks perpetuate the cultural pathologization of feminine embodied experience and the problem of female self-surveillance?

·      How can feminist philosophy inform the design of future technologies?

·      How can we ensure that future technologies will work in the service of feminism?

Childcare and accessibility:

If you would like to attend but childcare duties render your attendance difficult, please email [email protected]; [email protected]; the organisers hope to assist participants with childcare needs.

The event is wheelchair accessible, as will be the dinner venue. Accessibility information about the lecture rooms can be found here: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/visit/accessibility/cathays-park-campus/john-percival-building Service animals are welcome and the organisers will seek to accommodate any requests we receive in advance.

Conference support: 

The workshop organisers gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Mind Association and the School of English, Communication and Philosophy at Cardiff University. This conference will be organised in accordance with the SWIP-BPA good practice guidelines.

Any queries should be sent to [email protected]; [email protected]