Conference Goals
Feminist Epistemologies, Methodologies, Metaphysics
and Science Studies
FEMMSS
A Multidisciplinary Conference
November 5-7, 2004
Sponsored by the Simpson Center for the Humanities
at the University of Washington
Feminist analyses of academic disciplines and science have grown dramatically in scope, diversity, and impact since the mid 1990s when the last major conference devoted to the feminist work in these areas was held at the University of Minnesota. As feminists look beyond critique of embedded sexism and androcentrism, they often reframe assumptions in ways that open up new lines of inquiry and offer strategies for making the assessment of the partiality of all forms of inquiry an integral part of academic and scientific practice. These analyses make it clear that any systematic investigation of the forms of inquiry undertaken in academic disciplines and the sciences requires the tools of a wide range of disciplines; but they do not settle questions concerning how we are to understand the practice and products of academic and scientific research, their current forms and trajectories of development or, crucially, their successes and limitations.
This is an important juncture, then, at which to bring together feminists whose interests lie in epistemology, methodologies, metaphysics, and science studies, and at their intersections. We conceive this conference as a forum in which to explore the diversity of feminist analyses in these areas, both as they diverge from established traditions, and as they extend some of the more promising lines now emerging within them. We also hope that the conference will further enhance and enlarge the already vibrant network of feminists who share these interests.
Conference speakers include Linda Martin Alcoff, Karen Barad, Diane Benjamin, Sharyn Clough, Lorraine Code, Marilyn Frye, Angela Ginorio, Sandra Harding, Nancy Harstock, Anne Jaap Jacobson, Gail Mason, Jack Nelson, Lynn Hankinson Nelson, Elizabeth Potter, Phyllis Rooney, Naomi Scheman, Nancy Tuana, France Winddance Twine, Barbara Witten, and Alison Wylie.
UPDATE: The registration deadline has been extended to October 29th, 2004. There are also new partial registration options for those who do not wish to attend the full conference.