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Institute for Studies of Science

Join the ISoS inaugural conference at ZiF, Bielefeld on October 24, 2025

abstract lights — © Zacharie Elbaz / Unsplash

Science in Practice and in Society

Inaugural Conference of the Institute for Studies of Science (ISoS) on October 24, 2025

We are delighted to celebrate the founding of the Institute for Studies of Science (ISoS) as a Central Academic Institute at Bielefeld University. Our inaugural conference, “Science in Practice and in Society”, will be held at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF) in Bielefeld (Germany), on October 24, 2025.

The Institute for Studies of Science (ISoS) has recently been founded as a forum and research hub dedicated to the pursuit of integrated and interdisciplinary studies of science, medicine, and technology. ISoS integrates perspectives from philosophy, history and sociology to reflect on science and its relationship with society. Our program is rooted in an interdisciplinary working mode, involving close collaboration with the sciences. At our inaugural conference, we will discuss interdisciplinary perspectives on the practice of science and its entanglement with society – and explore how these aspects are intertwined.

Keynote speakers

Barbara Prainsack, University of Vienna

Maël Lemoine, University of Bordeaux

Adrian Wüthrich, Technische Universität Berlin

Preliminary Conference Program

09:00 - 09:15	Registration
09:15 - 09:30	Welcome
09:30 - 10:30	Barbara Prainsack (Universität Wien) “In the shadows of power: Troubling the foundations of evidence-based policy making“
10:30 - 11:00	Break
11:00 - 12:30	Lightning Talks
12:30 - 13:30	Lunch
13:30 - 14:30	Adrian Wüthrich (Technische Universität Berlin) "Scientific Practice and the Philosophy of Science"
14:30 - 15:00	Break
15:00 - 16:30	Roundtable: Science in Practice and in Society Silke Beck (TU München) Meta Cramer (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Gabriele Gramelsberger (RWTH Aachen) Simone Rödder (Universität Hamburg) Julia Schubert (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)
16:30 - 17:00	Break
17:00 - 18:00	Maël Lemoine (Université de Bordeaux) "Does philosophy contribute to the production of scientific knowledge?"
19:00	Dinner in the city center of Bielefeld

Registration

Attendance is free of charge, but registration is required for planning purposes. Please register by September 30 via email and indicate whether you plan to attend the dinner: isos@uni-bielefeld.de.

For administrative questions, please contact: isos-office@uni-bielefeld.de.