Workshop + Master Class on Digital Humanities, Social Epistemology, and Virtue Theory in a Post-Truth Society

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The Dutch Research School of Philosophy (OZSW), Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) invite PhD students, postdocs and other researchers in all domains of philosophy to register for the workshop + master class Digital Humanities, Social Epistemology, and Virtue Theory in a Post-Truth Society, to take place 14-15 December 2017.

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Organizing university

Delft University of Technology

Date(s)

14-15 December 2017

Location

De Waag Society
Nieuwmarkt 4
Amsterdam

Type of activity

2-day workshop / master class

Type of activity

1 ECTS

Primary target group

Intended participants include researchers in all domains of philosophy at the level PhD candidate and above.

If places available, also open to

n/a

Application/registration deadline

10 November 2017

About the topic

Within TU Delft, this activity is organized by DHEPCAT (the Digital Humanities and Experimental Philosophy Collaborative). DHEPCAT develops methodologies in natural language processing (NLP) and visual analytics to address issues in the field of philosophy. Digital humanities methods integrate and extend both close-reading and distant-reading techniques and offer a new source of evidence for empirically-informed and experimental philosophy. Traditionally, scholars working in experimental philosophy have focused on designing and conducting surveys and experiments to elicit judgments that reflect laypeople’s intuitions about philosophically important concepts such as right action, knowledge, meaning, or personal identity. As with any study that garners reactions from participants who have given informed consent, such work has limited external validity. Studies employing vignettes drawn from professional philosophy — such as stories involving mad scientists, runaway trolleys, and all-knowing supercomputers — run the additional risk of lacking ecological validity. While researchers have made progress investigating the judgments that laypeople produce when prompted with extraordinary scenarios, our understanding of people’s everyday intuitions would be enriched if we could review the judgments they express in the course of their everyday lives.

Aim / objective

The aim of the masterclass is to provide hands-on instruction in digital humanities methods for philosophers and other interested parties. We will cover methods such as exploratory visual analytics, social network analysis, semantic network analysis, and concept operationalization and association techniques.

Program

On December 14, talks will be given on the topic of digital humanities, social epistemology, and virtue theory in a post-truth society. The keynote will be delivered by data journalist Jonathan Albright.

On December 15, Albright and members of the Digital Humanities & Experimental Philosophy CollaborATive (DHEPCAT) will teach a hands-on masterclass on digital humanities methods for philosophers.

Lecturers

Mark Alfano (Delft University of Technology)

Key note speakers

Abstract submission

To contribute to the program, submit an abstract (for presentation on December 14) to the organizer, Mark Alfano, before 1 July 2017.

Required preparations

n/a

Certificate / credit points

A certificate will be issued after completion of a study load of 1 ECTS. PhD students who wish to receive this certificate will be expected to submit a paper within one month of attending the masterclass using some of the methods they learned during the class.

Costs

Participation in the workshop is free thanks to the generous support of 4TU.NIRICT. Travel stipends are available for foreign PhD students and junior researchers without their own funding.

Location / accommodation details

Participants are expected to take care of their own accommodation in Amsterdam.

Travel information

Travel directions to the Waag Society, the location of the workshop / master class.

How to apply / register

The registration deadline is 10 November 2017.

Registration/application form

Please use this registration form

Organizers

Mark Alfano, Delft University of Technology

Organized, with generous support from the Templeton Foundation and the 4TU Netherlands Institute for Research in Information and Communication Technology, by Mark Alfano, Emily Sullivan, Georgy Ishmaev, Bettina Speckmann, Ignaz Rutter, Wouter Meulemans, and Max Sondag.

Contact info

  • m.r.alfano@tudelft.nl (program)
  • secretariaat@ozsw.nl (registration and certificates)