An interdisciplinary conference: June 11 and 12, 2012
Sponsored by the FPR-Hampshire College Program in Culture, Brain, and Development

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Our understandings of self and society are being transformed by the neurosciences. At the same time, neuroscience is shaped and driven by social structures such as law, media, and education, and informed by fields such as sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and evolutionary biology. The emerging fields of neuroethics, neurolaw, and neuroeconomics are a testament to the desire to apply a better understanding of the brain to moral and social issues, but also point to a need to understand the myriad ethical, legal and cultural implications of the science itself.

This conference offers an opportunity for cross-disciplinary communication among scholars from many disciplines around how the neurosciences shape--and are shaped by--diverse social forces and cultural ideas.

We invite proposals from faculty and graduate students from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives.

Please submit a proposal that describes your background, interest, and proposed presentation topic. Participants will be expected to give a short presentation of how their work engages with, or could shed light on, issues at the intersections of law, philosophy, economics, ethics, or some other aspect of the cultural/social/political sphere and the neurosciences. Participants will receive a $500 stipend. Some assistance is available to help with travel costs; applicants are invited to apply for travel funding.

The conference program features two keynote speakers: Dr. Adina Roskies, associate professor of philosophy at Dartmouth College, and Dr. Peter Reiner, professor, National Core for Neuroethics and the Kinsman Laboratory of Neurological Research, Department of Psychiatry and Brain Research Center, University of British Columbia.

Presentations and panels will be structured around participant interests and proposals. For illustrative purposes only, possible topics might include (but are not limited to): changing conceptions of moral, personal, or economic decision-making; diagnosis, treatment, and conceptions of mental illness; ethical challenges posed by neuroscience research; art and neuroscience of creativity; social and ethical implications of neuropharmacological interventions; interactions between educational policies, practices, and the neurosciences; questions of free will and human agency; neuroscience of empathy, trust, and sociality; brain imagery and popular media; neuroscientific recasting of social problems such as addiction and violence.

LOGISTICS

The conference will be held at The Hotel Northampton in Northampton, MA. Accommodation for non-local participants will be provided.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

Proposals should be one to two pages in length and should include:
• A brief description of your academic/professional background;
• A statement of your interest in this topic and what you would offer to the discussion;
• A description of a particular issue or question that engages with, or could shed light on, issues at the intersections of the neurosciences and law, philosophy, economics, ethics, or other aspects of the cultural/social/political sphere, and a brief description of how you might approach this issue or question.

Proposals must be submitted by February 15, 2012
Please submit questions and proposals to Ryan McLaughlin, CBD program coordinator, via email: rmclaughlin@hampshire.edu or mail to:

CBD
Attn. Ryan McLaughlin
Adele Simmons Hall, Room 100
Hampshire College
893 West St.
Amherst, MA 01002

If you do not receive a confirmation of receipt of within two business days of emailing your proposal, please call the CBD office 413.559.5501 for assistance.