The European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) calls for proposals for the venue of EPSA15, its fifth conference, to be held in the autumn of 2015. The biennial conference is the main scientific event of the Association, typically attracting 300-400 philosophers of science from across the world. It usually comprises 180 contributed and symposia talks, organized in as many as 8 different sections, and taking place in 5 or 6 parallel sessions. A selection of the best talks is published as a volume in the new Springer EPSA series.
The conference is typically hosted by a philosophy of science unit, and its venue must be a recognized European academic or research institution. The event takes place in the autumn over a period of 3-4 days (which must include a Saturday) in alternating years to the conferences of the North-American Philosophy of Science Association (PSA). Past conferences have taken place at Madrid’s Complutense University (EPSA07) and Amsterdam’s VU University (EPSA09). EPSA11 takes place at the University of Athens from 5-7 October 2011, and EPSA13 will take place at the University of Helsinki.
A Local Organizing Committee (LOC, typically comprising 5-6 people) is set up at the host institution – with a remit to organize the event itself. About one year in advance the Steering Committee (SC) of EPSA puts out a call for papers and selects a Program Committee (PC) comprising distinguished philosophers of science. The LOC, SC and PC are non-overlapping sets of people, with the exception of the Chairs of the LOC and PC, who may be drawn from the SC. The Chairs of the LOC and PC are also expected to act as joint editors of the Conference volume.
Proposals must be submitted to the Vice-President of the Association (Mauricio Suárez, email: msuarez@filos.ucm.es) by the deadline of September 30, 2011 and must include: i) The name of the organizing unit or centre. ii) The name of the academic or research institute hosting the event. iii) The proposed dates in the autumn of 2015 (expected to be a long weekend from end of August to end of November of 2015). iv) The names of the members of the LOC, including Chair(s) and /or Deputy. v) A copy of the CV of the Chair or Chairs of the LOC. vi) An estimated budget proposal, including rough estimates for the following expenses: a) building and facilities, b) catering, c) conference registration packs (x 200 delegates minimum), d) personnel.
The Steering Committee will announce the result during the EPSA11 conference in Athens. The selection will attend to the organizational merits of the proposal, and the tacit agreement for a geographical spread of successive venues – so an Eastern, Central or Southern European venue may be preferred for 2015.
For further information regarding EPSA, including its past and forthcoming conferences, please check: http://www.epsa.ac.at
