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.

 

Spring 2026 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
Human and Machine in Spaceflight’s Second Century Matthew Hersch History of Science, Harvard University 30 January
Nutritional Imperialism: How Science Turned Difference into Sickness in China  Hilary Smith Department of History, University of Denver 6 February
Remembering as Inverse Causal Inference Felipe De Brigard

Department of Philosophy, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University

 13 February
Countering Official Ignorance on State-Sanctioned Murder from Lynching to George Floyd and Renee Nicole Good Jay Aronson Department of History, Carnegie Mellon University 20 February
Comprehensive Literature Searching for Evidence Synthesis Methods Amy Riegelman

Social Sciences and Evidence Synthesis Librarian, University of Minnesota

 23 February
Science under attack: US research funding in the political crossfire Christine Leuenberger Science and Technology Studies,
Cornell University		 27 February
Sea Change: The Squid Giant Axon and the Transformation of Neurobiology in the 20th Century Kathryn Maxson Jones History, Purdue University 20 March
What Counts as Behavior? AI and Behavioral Ontology in Neuroscience Nedah N. Nemati 

Center for Science and Society, Columbia University

 27 March
Salience traditions as a theme in the pedagogical epistemology of science: The case of genetics Gregory Radick School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, University of Leeds 3 April
TBC  Michael Reidy History and Philosophy, Montana State University 10 April
Separate but Dead: Mapping Disease & Segregation in New Orleans, 1880-1915 S Wright Kennedy Department of History, University of South Carolina 17 April
Cyclones, Forecasts, and Uncertainty: How Model-Ensembles Can Be an Effective Guide to Anticipatory Action Roman Frigg  Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, London School of Economics 24 April
Malady of Monoculture: Pellagra, Public Health, and the Pathologies of Cotton’s Capitalism Dana Landress Department of Medical History and Bioethics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison 1 May