Organizers: Dr. Janina Loh, Prof. Dr. Mark Coeckelbergh
Date: October 25-26, 2018
Venue: University of Vienna, Department of Philosophy, Universitätsstr. 7 (NIG), 1010 Vienna
There has been little attention to feminism and gender issues in mainstream philosophy of technology and vice versa: many feminists have focused on societal matters and relationships without taking into account how technics (i.e. technologies and techniques) shape those societies and relationships.
However, since the beginning of the second-wave feminism by the mid 20th century, a growing awareness of the gravity and urgency for a critical reflection of technology and the sciences within feminist discourses can be observed. But feminist thinkers have not throughout interpreted technology and science as potentially emancipatory and liberating in every respect. In the same breath, the inherent structures of dominance, marginalization, and oppression have been confronted and disqualified within the feminist paradigm. The question of defining and ascribing responsibility in science and technics – regarding for instance the technological transformation of labor, the life in the information society, and the relationship between humans and machines – is essential for this workshop.
Critical posthumanism and new feminist materialism define promising examples for a reformulation of known challenges such as essentialism and relativism, a transformation of hypostatized perspectives on traditional categories and dichotomies, as well as the claim to think off the beaten paths of socialist, liberal, and radical feminism.
Confirmed keynote speakers are Corinna Bath, Rick Dolphijn, Nina Lykke, Kathleen Richardson, Lucy Suchman, and Judy Wajcman.
The workshop Feminist Philosophy of Technology has two main aims: It shall present and spark a dialogue between the prominent approaches within feminist philosophy of technology (first day). On the second day we would like to explore and discuss potential challenges and perspectives within current movements of feminist philosophy of technology. We welcome submissions on any – but not limited to – the following issues:
o critical posthumanism
o new materialist feminism
o feminist philosophy of technology
o technofeminism
o cyberfeminism
o xenofeminism
o human-machine-interaction
o relationships with machines
o sexrobotics
o the future of work (industry 4.0, automatization, digitalization)
o women, technics, and education
o women, technics, and arts.
Please submit abstracts of around 500 words to janina.loh@univie.ac.at, by July 30.
Acceptance notifications will be sent out by the end of August.
