CfP: "Women in Science: Achievements and Barriers" Conference

Inspired by its 2023 exhibition Women in Science, the American Philosophical Society is organizing two international conferences that will explore the history of women in science, the present state of science and society, and the opportunities to create a more inclusive and diverse practice of science. The Society’s first gathering will focus on the themes “achievements and barriers,” while the second will focus on “opportunities.” Both conferences aim to examine these themes from historical, contemporary, and interdisciplinary perspectives.  

The program committee is now accepting proposals for the first conference on “Women in Science: Achievements and Barriers.” The conference will be held in-person at the Society in Philadelphia on June 8-9, 2023. The conference will also be livestreamed.

The program committee invites paper proposals from scholars in all fields, and especially historians, practitioners, policymakers, educators, and others whose work bears upon this theme.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

  • The contributions women have made to the advancement of scientific knowledge throughout time, and the varied forms these accomplishments have taken
  • The barriers that women have faced and continue to face in accessing scientific knowledge, education, and professional training
  • The challenges women have faced and continue to face in achieving full and equal participation and recognition in scientific endeavors and research opportunities
  • The impact of differences across scientific disciplines on the experiences of women in science
  • The impact of race, disability, class, and other identities on the experiences of women in science
  • The historical efforts taken by individuals, groups, policymakers, educators, and institutions to reduce barriers, their successes and failures, and how they continue to influence scientific education and practice today
  • Studies of scientists, cohorts, and intellectual networks that have affected women’s access to and participation in science
  • The ways in which the labor, politics, and economics of scientific research practices impact women’s roles in science 
  • The ways in which gendered social roles affect the careers of women in science

Applicants should submit a title and a 250-word proposal along with a C.V. by January 16, 2023 via Interfolio: https://apply.interfolio.com/117770

All presenters will receive travel subsidies and hotel accommodations. Accepted papers will be due a month before the conference and pre-circulated to registered attendees. Papers should be no longer than 15-double spaced pages. Presenters may also have the opportunity to publish revised papers in the APS’s Transactions, one of the longest running scholarly journals in America.

Contact Info: 

For more information, visit https://www.amphilsoc.org/, or contact Adrianna Link, Head of Scholarly Programs, at alink@amphilsoc.org

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