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In the 20th century philosophy took up the mantle of a discipline, embracing academic specialization; philosophy was written-by-and-for-
professional philosophers. In the current age of accountability this disciplinary approach to philosophy faces a number of challenges.
Philosophers, like others across the academy, are being asked to justify their relevance to society—relevance that can perhaps be best
demonstrated by philosophers working across and beyond the disciplines: for instance, in partnership with scientists or engineers, or
working with policy makers. Does disciplinary philosophy need to be complemented by inter- and transdisciplinary philosophic work?
This conference seeks to attract philosophers who are developing new (often interdisciplinary) models for philosophic engagement, and to
foster a community of practice among philosophers who are developing new approaches of engaged philosophy. Participation is sought
across three tracks:
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This track focuses on philosophers working with scientists, engineers, and policymakers on questions at the intersection of
science, philosophy, and policy, e.g., bioethics, nanotechnology, environmental ethics, military ethics, etc. Participants will be
asked to present their work as case studies in engaged philosophy, participating in panel discussions on how such work can be
improved in the future. Presenters will hear responses from representatives of the science, engineering, and policy communities
who will provide feedback, helping to identify the range of opportunities for engaged philosophy.
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This track explores new institutional expressions of philosophy. Participants will explore the different theoretical/institutional
embodiments, and the types of philosophical practice could result, e.g., as synthesizers of disciplinary knowledge, specialists who
focused on distinctively philosophic problems, or generalists who seek to translate the insights of the academy to the world at
large. Presenters in this track are welcome to propose to run a panel or a workshop format.
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Participants in this track will describe actual or possible ways to train the next generation of philosophers in how to conduct
engaged philosophy. Examples of such efforts could include experiences working with funding agencies, or with integrating
interdisciplinarity into graduate or undergraduate education.
TToo aappppllyy:: Participants will be selected on the basis of a 500 word abstract describing their presentation and which track they wish to
work within. Deadline: December 1, 2010; send to csid@unt.edu. Notices will be sent out by Jan 15, 2011. Accepted papers will be
posted on the conference website beforehand, so participants are required to send their paper to csid@unt.edu no later than
February 20 . Papers should be no longer than 2500 words. Presenters will offer a 5-10 min summary of their argument at the
conference.
NNoottee:: up to 10 travel grants of $500 each are available for graduate students or assistant professors. Acceptance of a paper is not a
requirement. To apply for a travel grant, write a brief (1 paragraph) account of your interest in attending, and send it to csid@unt.edu. For
additional information, see www.csid.unt.edu.

This conference is a joint effort of representatives from the Departments of Philosophy at Georgia Tech
University, Michigan State University, the University of North Texas, and the University of South Carolina as well
as the Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity at UNT, the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences’ Unit of
Social, Culture and Technology Studies, the Philosophy of/as Interdisciplinarity Network, the Rock Ethics
Institute at Penn State, and the Udo Keller Foundation.