Aiming to balance interdisciplinarity with integrated scholarship, the discipline of HPS is characterized by its willingness and ability to engage in a variety of interdisciplinary conversations in its pursuit of creating new images of science. In an effort to better articulate an integrated approach to the History and Philosophy of Science, many groups such as the Committee for Integrated HPS and their &HPS conference series have focused on sorting out the relationship between historical and philosophical methodologies within HPS. In an effort to build upon this work, the graduate students of the University of Notre Dame’s History and Philosophy of Science Ph.D. program, administered by the John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values, will convene a two day conference on March 31 – April 1, 2023 around the theme of HPS and interdisciplinarity. The conference aims to step beyond conversations of integrated HPS and to explore how HPS scholars can interact with scholars from neighboring fields outside of HPS to promote interdisciplinary research into the place of science and technology in society.
The Fourth Annual Notre Dame History and Philosophy of Science, Technology, and Values (ND HPSTV) Graduate Conference therefore aims to address such theoretical and methodological questions as: How can the historical and philosophical scholarship of HPS influence and be influenced by disciplines such as theology, literature, media studies, or education? Without sacrificing the core of HPS (whatever that might be), what insights can be gained through a study of science that aims to integrate HPS with the humanities more broadly? How can this scholarly interaction help us better understand the place of science and technology in society? Rather than being “passive/neutral observers” of scientific practice, how can HPS scholars more actively engage with practicing scientists to promote the benefits of HPS perspectives?
