Science, Expertise, and Society

Notre Dame History and Philosophy of Science Conference: “Science, Expertise, and Society,” March 26th – 28th, 2026

Call for Papers

For this year’s annual HPS conference, we are seeking a variety of perspectives on the phenomenon of “scientific expertise”: How have sciences, expertise, and the state been co-constitutive and mutually reinforcing? How have (and how do) practices of quantification and categorization contribute to colonial expansion and reification of racial hierarchies? How can we assess “good judgment” within scientific practices? Can such assessments be articulated and generalized to domains “outside the lab,” or are they inevitably “tacit” and context-specific? What are the tensions and synergies between scientific and religious epistemologies and authorities?

We are currently accepting submissions for twenty-minute papers and for posters. Abstracts should be approximately 500 words for papers and 100 for posters.

Abstracts are due January 31st, 2026. Submit here.

For additional questions, get in touch at ndhpsconference@nd.edu.