Colloquia, Giere lecture, IPDF and Science Studies Symposia
Colloquia
The Center hosts a number of seminars each semester. The colloquia series is jointly hosted by the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science (MCPS), the Program in History of Science and Technology, and the Program in the History of Medicine. Lectures begin at 3:35pm in 216 Pillsbury Drive (formerly Nicholson Hall), Room 125 on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus.
Giere Memorial Lecture
The Giere Memorial Lecture in Philosophy of Science is held bi-annually. The next lecture will be on Friday 24 April 2026.
International PostDoc Forum
The International PostDoc Forum (IPDF) is an online event for early career researchers to share their work. Commentary is provided by local MCPS community members. There are usually two of these events held each semester.
Science Studies Symposium
The annual Science Studies Symposium is an opportunity for scholars from diverse areas at the University of Minnesota to communicate their research related to the nature, dynamics, and intricacies of one or more of the sciences, including broader implications for scholarship and society.
Autumn 2025 colloquia dates
We're excited to announce this semester's lineup of speakers. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like more information about a specific date. Abstracts are available to read via PDF.
Title |
Speaker |
Institution |
Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island Tinkerers and Incompatible Computer Dreams: Contested Computer Exports from Taiwan to the United States in the 1980s | Honghong Tinn | History of Science and Technology, University of Minnesota | 12 September |
| Kuhn’s speciation metaphor and the birth of biochemistry | William Goodwin | Philosophy, University of South Florida | 19 September |
| Imaginative Mechanism: Elements, Fluids, Engines, and the role of Analogical Reasoning in Robert Boyle’s Natural Philosophy | Victor Boantza | History of Science and Technology, University of Minnesota | 26 September |
| What’s Wrong with Innovation?: A History of the Rise and Fracture of Innovation Culture | Matthew Wisnioski | Science, Technology, and Society, Virginia Tech | 3 October |
| In and Out of Place | Lukas Rieppel | History, Brown University | 10 October |
| What makes philosophy-STEM collaborations successful and why do they matter? Perspectives from scientists and engineers | Katie Plaisance | Knowledge Integration, University of Waterloo | 17 October |
| Embodiment and Mobility in Online Technologies: From Computerized Conferencing to Tablets | Elizabeth Petrick | History, Rice University | 24 October |
| Natural kinds for psychology: A multi-level mechanistic proposal | Jasmin Özel | MCPS, University of Minnesota | 31 October |
| Invisible Anatomy: Meridians and Math in Chinese Medicine | Lan Li | History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University | 7 November |
| AI and the Nature of Science: Concepts and Controversies | Carl Bergstrom, Cameron Buckner, Thomas Byrd, Lisa Messeri, Claudia Scarlata | University of Washington, University of Florida, University of Minnesota, Yale | 14 November |
| Carl Sagan, The Encyclopedia Britannica, and the Meaning of “Life” in the Mid-Twentieth Century | Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis | Biology and History, University of Florida |
21 November |
| Reanimating the Dead in the Nineteenth Century | Renee Fox | Literature, UC Santa Cruz | 5 December |
Each semester we invite scholars from around the country and the world to present on scholarship in the history and philosophy of science, technology and medicine.
Lectures begin at 3:35pm in 216 Pillsbury Drive (formerly Nicholson Hall), Room 125 on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus.
At this time, all events will be in-person unless otherwise stated. Some events may be subject to change. Please check back for updates or for more information.
For more information and to stay in touch:
- Subscribe to our mailing list for colloquium updates and links to the events.
- Visit our Youtube channel to see recorded presentations.
- Contact [email protected]
Spring 2025
Abstracts for the 2025 series. Seminars will not be held on the following dates: 2/28/25; 3/7/25; 3/14/25
January 24, 2025, 3:35PM
This colloquium has been cancelled.
January 31, 2025, 3:35PM
The Anonymous Animal: Naming and Knowing in the Anthropocene
Whitney Robles, History, Dartmouth College
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
February 7, 2025, 3:35PM
Ruff Love: Puppies, Toddlers, and B.F. Skinner
Henry Cowles, History, University of Michigan
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
February 14, 2025, 3:35PM
This colloquium has been cancelled.
February 21, 2025, 3:35PM
Disability, Representation, and the British Military
Jared Richman, Colorado College
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
February 28, 2025, 3:35PM
No colloquium
March 7, 2025, 3:35PM
No colloquium
March 14, 2025, 3:35PM
No colloquium - Spring Break
March 21, 2025, 3:35PM
The Promise and Perils of Polygenic Scores: A Critical Examination for Social Science Research
Callie H. Burt, Criminal Justice & Criminology; Center for Research on Interpersonal Violence (CRIV), Georgia State University
March 28, 2025, 3:35PM
Lee Harvey Oswald and American Child Psychiatry, 1963-1983
Laura Hirshbein, University of Michigan
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
April 4, 2025, 3:35PM
TBC
Sarah Cameron, History, University of Maryland
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
April 11, 2025, 3:35PM
Open Peer Review and Transparency in Science|
Haixin Dang, Philosophy, Case Western University
April 18, 2025, 3:35PM
Now is the Time to Collect: Museums & Salvage Zoology at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Paul Brinkman, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
April 25, 2025, 3:35PM
TBC
Mary Brazelton, University of Cambridge
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Fall 2024
September 13, 2024, 3:35PM
Informative for Whom? The Concept of Information in Neuroscience
JP Gamboa, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science
September 20, 2024, 3:35PM
***Room 35 216 Pillsbury Drive*** room change
In the Shadow of Diagnosis: Psychiatric Power and Queer Life
Reg Kunzel, Yale University
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
September 27, 2024, 3:35PM
‘Englishing’ Natural Knowledge: Antiquarianism and Exceptionalism in Elizabethan Science.
Melissa Reynolds, History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
October 4, 2024, 3:35PM
Building a coastline: The Texas Coastal and Marine Council Artificial Reef Program, 1971-1985
Samantha Muka, STS, Stevens Institute of Technology
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
October 11, 2024, 3:35PM
Types of Causation in the Life Sciences
Lauren Ross, Logic and Philosophy of Science, UC Irvine
October 18, 2024, 3:35PM
"The Great Forgetting" --or the one thing that everyone should know about the history of medicine--
Shigehisa Kuriyama, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
October 25, 2024, 3:35PM
README: Exploring a Bookish History of Computing
Patrick McCray, History, UC Santa Barbara
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
November 1, 2024, 3:35PM
Communities of Community Science
Aleta Quinn, Department of Philosophy, University of Idaho
November 15, 2024, 3:35PM
The Tone That Makes Life: Fibre Vibrations in Early Modern Medicine
Edward Halley Barnet, History, St John's College, Annapolis
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
November 22, 2024, 3:35PM
Doctor’s Order: Managing Medical Information in the Twentieth Century
Andrew Lea, Brigham and Women's Hospital & Harvard Medical School
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
December 6, 2024, 3:35PM
Reframing “Guatemala’s Tuskegee”: Revolution, Eugenics, and Experimentation in the Ten Years of Spring
Lydia Crafts, History, Manhattan College
Co-sponsored by the Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine