HPS_EST April 2026

hps_est@lists.philo.at

3 participants
4 discussions

Trans*Formations: 15.5. with Jane Russell KC

by Flora Löffelmann

Dear All, we want to cordially invite you to the May Trans*Formations Event at the Philosophy Institute. For those who do not know the series: This talk and workshop series organized by a bunch of people from the Philosophy Department (BA, MA and PhD) provides insights into recent developments in trans* philosophizing. Thanks to the Vienna Doctoral School of Philosophy (VDP) [1] and queer@hochschulen [2] for their financial support! In the next talk, Jane Russell KC (Lawyer from London) will discuss her experiences with contemporary cases in UK law that deal with rights of trans* people. She will give insight into her practice, and reflect on anti-trans* presuppositions and British terfism that become evident in these court cases. The event will be in English! When: 15.5.2026, 16:00-17:30 Where: HS 3A, NIG (Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Wien) Trans* Exclusion in UK Courts A Talk by Jane Russell KC As a lawyer, Jane Russell KC has represented the interests of the British trans* community in some of the most high profile cases of the past decade: Bailey v Stonewall and Garden Court (2022), involving the co-founder of the prominent anti-trans lobbying group LGB Alliance; Forstater v CGD (2019), involving the founder of Sex Matters, and which established that "gender critical views" are protected as a 'philosophical belief' under the Equality Act 2010; recently, Peggie vs Fife Health Board and Dr. B Upton (2025), which considered whether a nurse had been subject to discrimination by virtue of being expected to share a changing room with a trans* colleague. With her legal expertise and personal insights into the fight for trans* rights inside the courtroom, Jane Russell is ideally placed to shed light on how powerful groups use the law to target trans* people, and how trans* rights can be protected by the court. There will be drinks & snacks and a Q&A after the talk! We are especially happy if those join the talk who are versed in the legal situation of trans* people in Austria, so we can have a fruitful discussion on similarities, differences, and possible strategies for action. But: no prior legal knowledge required!!! Please register here [3] and forward to everyone who could be interested! Looking forward to seeing you at the talk! The Trans*Formations Team and UPSalon - A Salon for Underrepresented Philosophers [4] P.S.: Here [5], you find a poster - you can also print it and hang at your own department! -- Flora Löffelmann, MA MA Department of Philosophy University of Vienna Pronouns: they/them (for more info see: https://www.mypronouns.org/what-and-why/) Happy about a gender neutral "hello"! Links: ------ [1] https://vd-philosophy.univie.ac.at/ [2] https://queer-at-hochschulen.org/ [3] https://urise.univie.ac.at/mod/booking/optionview.php?optionid=2719&cmi… [4] https://upsalon.univie.ac.at/ [5] https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/91476ae5-ecba-47db-8f24-1f62f30b62fd

4 months, 3 weeks

Vienna STS Talk by Vololona Rabeharisoa

by Katrin Hackl

We are happy to invite you to our 6th talk of the Vienna STS Talk Series in 2026S: [cid:image001.png@01DCD254.2CD40310]<https://sts.univie.ac.at/en/news-events/details-news-events/news/vienna-sts…> Best wishes, Katrin Hackl Mag. Katrin Hackl Research Support & Communication Department of Science and Technology Studies University of Vienna Department of Science and Technology Studies Universitätsstraße 7 /II/ 6th floor (NIG), 1010 Vienna / Austria T +43-1-4277-49607 katrin.hackl(a)univie.ac.at<mailto:katrin.hackl@univie.ac.at>

5 months

Buchsymposium mit Jan Völker zu Philosophie und Raumfahrt am 21. Mai in NIG 2H

by Miguel de la Riva

Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen, während Artemis 2 nach der Umkreisung des Mondes zur Erde zurückfliegt möchten Ralf Gisinger und ich Sie herzlich zu einem Buchsymposium zu Philosophie und Raumfahrt am 21. Mai in NIG 2H einladen. In einem fachübergreifenden Workshop möchten wir mit Jan Völker über seinen 2025 bei Matthes & Seitz erschienenen Essay "Ein Weltall des Kapitals: Die Überwindung der terrestrischen Vernunft" diskutieren. Völker ist seit dem Wintersemester Professor an der Abteilung für Philosophie der Universität für angewandte Kunst. Sie finden im Anhang das Plakat zur Veranstaltung, ein detaillierteres Programm werden wir im Mai vor der Veranstaltung aussenden. PHILOSOPHIE UND RAUMFAHRT Symposium zu Jan Völkers Buch "Ein Weltall des Kapitals: Die Überwindung der terrestrischen Vernunft" (2025) Donnerstag, 21. Mai 2026, 14.00 – 18.30, NIG 2H Die Raumfahrt hat das Verständnis der Stellung des Menschen im Kosmos unwiderruflich verändert. Gagarin und Sputnik, Mondlandung und Erdfotografien waren wichtige Themen der Philosophie ihrer Zeit. Heute erlebt der Griff nach Mond und Sternen unter den Vorzeichen von kommerzieller Verwertbarkeit, neuer geopolitischer Rivalitäten und ökologischer Krisen eine Renaissance. In seinem neuen Essay wirft Jan Völker die Frage auf, ob sich damit der Abschied von einer terrestrischen Vernunft und dem Bild der Erde als unersetzlicher Heimstatt des Menschen ankündigt. Wir diskutieren darüber in einem fachübergreifenden Workshop, zu dem alle herzlich eingeladen sind. Vortragende: -- Prof. Dr. Alexandra Ganser, Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik -- Ralf Gisinger, Institut für Philosophie -- Assoz. Prof. Dr. Nina Klimburg-Witjes, Institut für Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung, ERC-Projekt „FutureSpace“ -- Miguel de la Riva, Institut für Philosophie -- Prof. Dr. Jan Völker, Abteilung für Philosophie, Universität für angewandte Kunst Mit besten Grüßen Miguel de la Riva & Ralf Gisinger -- Miguel de la Riva, M.A. Wissenschaftlicher Projektmitarbeiter Institut für Philosophie Universität Wien https://bsky.app/profile/m-de-la-riva.bsky.social

5 months, 2 weeks

Trans*Formations Talk Luana Pesarini, 30.4. 2026

by Flora Löffelmann

Dear All, please save the date for the next Trans*Formations Event at the Philosophy Institute. For those who do not know the series: This talk and workshop series organized by a bunch of people from the Philosophy Department (BA, MA and PhD) provides insights into recent developments in trans* philosophizing. Thanks to the Vienna Doctoral School of Philosophy (VDP) [1] and queer@hochschulen [2] for their financial support! In the next talk, Luana Pesarini (Goethe Universität Frankfurt) will discuss historical and contemporary theories of the neural basis of transness, and the presuppositions these studies rely on, from a trans/feminist science studies perspective. The next Event will be in English! When & Where: Thursday, 30.4.2026 - 18:00-19:30 at HS 3A, NIG (Universitätsstraße 7) The Trans Brain? History and Current Hypotheses on the Neural Basis of Transness Abstract: Against the background of contemporary debates about the supposed natural basis of sex/gender and the intersection of neurodivergence and transness, the lecture will turn to the history and contemporary theories of the neural basis of transness. Contemporary trans brain hypotheses rest on a whole array of presuppositions: The assumption that brains have a sex/gender; that this brain sex/gender can stand in opposition to the sex assigned at birth; that brain sex/gender develops in response to hormonal changes; that this development has a temporal threshold; and that one can discern transness from a trans-sexed/gendered brain - all of these conveyed through imaging technologies. To fan out the presuppositions that fuel contemporary theories of the neural basis of transness, the lecture will trace its history through the lens of trans/feminist science studies. Starting from theories about the natural bisexuality and plasticity of mammals and their eugenic interpretations at the beginning of the 20th century (Eugen Steinach, Paul Kammerer), the lecture will move through the early hypotheses about the neural basis of transness in the post-Second World War inception of trans medicine in the US (John Money, Robert Stoller, Harry Benjamin), to the first neuroimaging studies on transness in the 1990s and early 2000s, to finish with the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of transness in contemporary neuroscience and a discussion of its impacts on the lives of trans people. Neuronal explanations of transness certainly do not carry the same weight in the debates about the natural basis of sex/gender and transness as chromosomal explanations. Incidents such as the International Chess Federation's ban of trans women from the women's category, the European Society of Endocrinology's considerations about brain scans as "a useful tool for earlier identification of transgenderism in young people," and calls from neuroscientists to intervene in and prevent the development of transness in the brain nevertheless illustrate the current and potentially future power of such explanations over the lives of trans people. Bio: Luana Pesarini is a philosophy-trained sociologist specializing in feminist science and technology studies, theories of materiality, and trans feminism. She is currently working as a doctoral researcher in the German Research Foundation-funded RTG "Fixing Futures. Technologies of Anticipation in Contemporary Societies" at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany. There will be a Q&A after the talk, as well as snacks and drinks! Please also save the date for the next Trans*Formations Events: A talk on Law and Gender by UK barrister Jane Russell on 15.5., and a full-day event with a focus on Gender Euphoria on 7.6. with, among others, talks by Quill Kukla (Georgetown University) and Eric A. Stanley (University of California, Berkeley). We are thankful to our previous Trans*Formations speakers: Luce deLire [3], Alyosxa Tudor [4], Eric Llaveria Caselles [5], Emelia Stanley, [6] Emma Heaney [7], Juliana Gleeson, [8] Gen Eickers & Sigmond Richli [9], Jonah I. Garde [10] and Anna Klieber [11]! We are looking forward to seeing you at the event, and happy if you forward this invitation and the attached poster to others who might be interested! With all the best, the Trans*Formations Team Links: ------ [1] https://vd-philosophy.univie.ac.at/ [2] https://queer-at-hochschulen.org/ [3] https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/en/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/det… [4] https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail… [5] https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail… [6] https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail… [7] https://lists.philo.at/hyperkitty/list/news@lists.philo.at/thread/GIUSVC6TO… [8] https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail… [9] https://urise.univie.ac.at/mod/booking/optionview.php?cmid=293&optionid… [10] https://lists.philo.at/hyperkitty/list/news@lists.philo.at/thread/ZUJBVRNM7… [11] https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail…

5 months, 2 weeks

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HPS_EST April 2026