#STSMeetsEthics23
STS TÜRKİYE – METU UEAM : STS Meets Ethics Joint Conference
October 31 – November 2 2023
Date: 31 October – 02 November 2023
Venue: Middle East Technical University
Languages: English and Turkish
Grand challenges created by climate change, environmental degradation and the resulting natural disasters along with the growing energy crisis, immigration and pandemics, on the one hand, and the hype and fear around the rise of artificial intelligence applications like ChatGPT, biomedical advances and digitalization based on big data, on the other… In a world characterised by such global crises and rapid advancements in science and technology, it has now become inevitable to address these complex and multifaceted phenomena through an interdisciplinary approach.
Philosophy addresses these phenomena in an effort to make sense of them while simultaneously taking upon itself the task of inquiring how they ought to be developed. Like many social sciences and humanities, philosophy too increasingly contributes to the diversity of studies on technology and science, particularly from the point of view of ethics. It is also crucial to acknowledge the significance of Science, Technology and Society / Science and Technology Studies (STS) which have been shaping our understanding of emerging technologies a great deal. STS has been at the forefront of highlighting the interconnectedness of society, science, and technology, emphasizing their mutual influence on one another. This perspective has prompted us to delve deeper into the intricate relationships between science, technology and society, inspiring new insights and innovative approaches.
As we navigate the complexities of these phenomena, philosophy and STS continue to play pivotal roles in guiding us towards a holistic understanding of the interactions between science, technology and society. By recognizing the dynamic interplay between these elements, we can better address the ethical, social and philosophical implications arising from technological and scientific advancements. In this sense, philosophy and STS not only enrich our intellectual pursuits but also empower us to shape a future that aligns technology with human needs, aspirations and values.
The conference “STS meets Ethics” jointly organised by METU Applied Ethics Research Center (UEAM), Science and Technology Policy Research Center (TEKPOL), Department of Philosophy and Turkish Scholarly Network for Science and Technology Studies (STS TÜRKİYE) and Bilkent University Faculty of Engineering welcomes any contributions inquiring the interconnectedness of science, technology, society and ethics. “STS Meets Ethics” thus aims to foster a more informed, ethical and responsible approach to the development of emerging technologies and their impact on society.
Conference topics include but are not limited to the following:
- Environment, Technology and Ethics
Environmental ethics; Sustainability; Green transformation and society; Science, technology and urban life; Multispecies ethnography; Agriculture and food ethics
- Digital Technologies and Society
Internet security, social media and big data; Artificial intelligence; Human rights in the information age; Information technologies and e-Government; Surveillance society and biopolitics; Human Machine Interaction
- Medicine, Technology and Society
Medical ethics; Bioethics; Philosophy of biology; Transhumanism; Posthumanism; Stem cell, genetic modification, human enhancement; Reproductive technologies; Biopolitics; Food technologies; Biomedicalisation
- Responsible Research and Innovation
Design, technology and society; Participatory design; Responsible design; Social entrepreneurship and innovation; Science communication; Integrity in scientific research and technology development; Innovation management; Technology assessment; Defence industry; Academic performance metrics
- Culture and Identity under the Influence of Technology
Migration due to wars or climate events; Terror, war; Gender; Science, technology and feminism; Social media; Post-truth; Dis/Ability; Discrimination and inequality based on sexual orientation and ethnicity; Technology and psychology; Perception of technology in society
- Ethics, Aesthetics, Technology
Art, artisanship, and technology; Bioart and society; Digital arts; Science fiction literature and cinema; Aesthetics of technology
- Philosophy and History of Technology
Philosophy of technology; Evolution of technology; Social transformation and technology; Relationship between science and technology
Abstract submissions will be made via this Google Form link.
Abstracts should be a minimum of 400 words and a maximum of 600 words in Turkish or English. Abstracts will be evaluated through a double blind review.
Important dates for submission are listed below. For any issues related to the submission process or conference, you may send an e-mail to konferans@ststurkey.net in English or Turkish.
Deadline for abstract submission: September 10 (updated)
Announcement of reviewer evaluation results: September 22, 2023 (to be updated. authors will be informed in person.)
Deadline for speaker registration: October 6, 2023 (to be updated. authors will be informed in person.)
Announcement of the conference program: October 10, 2023
The conference will take place at Kültür ve Kongre Merkezi, Middle East Technical University. Online participation will not be provided throughout the program.
For the participation details, please follow the announcements on our social media accounts ( Twitter , Instagram and Facebook) via #stsmeetsethics hashtag.
Organizers and Supporters: METU Applied Ethics Research Center, Bilkent University, STS TÜRKİYE
STS Meets Ethics Conference has been announced. You can review the whole sessions here. Conference proceedings book is accessible here.
You can access detailed information below for all workshops that will be organized during the conference.
Related information is provided based on the language of the workshop. To register the workshops, please use this form.
WORLD CAFÉ: Post- ve Trans-Hüman Gelecekler: Yapay Zeka ile Yönlendirilen Bir Dünyada Toplumsal Zorluklar (31 October) – [cancelled due to infrastructure issue]
VIRT2UE Araştırma Etiği Eğitim Modülü – Erdemler ve Normlar Egzersizi (1 November)
Atlas.ti’nin Kullanımına Giriş: Nitel Araştırmada Temel Beceriler (1 November)
Case Analysis in Ethics Education (2 November)
Conference Organizing Committee
Halil Turan, Prof. Dr., METU Department of Philosophy, METU Applied Ethics Research Center
Gülizar Karahan Balya, Research Assistant, Dr., METU Applied Ethics Research Center
Büşra Akkökler Karatekeli, Research Assistant, Dr., METU Department of Philosophy
Sinan Şenel, METU Applied Ethics Research Center
Büke Temizler, PhD Candidate, METU Department of Philosophy
Berk Yaylım, Research Assistant, Dr., METU Department of Philosophy
Arsev Umur Aydınoğlu, Asst. Prof. Dr., METU, Science and Technology Policies Research Center
Şafak Kılıçtepe, Dr., Kırşehir Ahi Evran University, Department of Anthropology
Erkan Saka, Prof. Dr., Istanbul Bilgi University, Department of Communication Design and Management
Melike Şahinol, Dr., Max Weber Stiftung, Orient-Institut Istanbul
Emine Öncüler Yayalar, Dr., Bilkent University, Faculty of Engineering
İpek Altun, Instructor, Bilkent University, Department of Communication and Design
Scientific Committee
Ömer Faik Anlı, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Ankara University, Department of Philosophy
Semih Akçomak, Prof. Dr., METU, Science and Technology Policies Research Center
Arsev U. Aydınoğlu, Asst. Prof. Dr., METU, Science and Technology Policies Research Center
Murat Baç, Prof. Dr., METU, Department of Philosophy
Gülşah Başkavak, Dr., Max Weber Stiftung, Orient-Institut Istanbul
Fatin Cedden, Prof. Dr., Ankara University, Department of Animal Science
Erdal Cengiz, Prof. Dr., Ankara University, Department of Philosophy
Nesrin Çobanoğlu, Prof. Dr., Gazi University, Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Kurtuluş Dinçer, Prof. Dr., Hacettepe University, Department of Philosophy
Matthias Dörries, Prof. Dr., University of Strasbourg, Interdisciplinary Research Institute for Science and Technology, ESST
Stavros Drakopoulos, Prof. Dr., NKUA, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Erkan Erdil, Prof. Dr., METU, Science and Technology Policy Studies
Giorgos Gotsis, Prof. Dr., NKUA, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
James Griffith, Asst. Prof. Dr., METU, Department of Philosophy
Nurbay Irmak, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Boğaziçi University, Department of Philosophy
Gürol Irzık, Prof. Dr., Sabancı University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Ali O. İlhan, Instructor, University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
Ahmet İnam, Prof. Dr., METU, Department of Philosophy
Ceren Gülser İlikan Rasimoğlu, Asst. Prof. Dr., Acıbadem University, Department of Sociology
İnan Kalaycıoğulları, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Ankara University, Department of Philosophy
M. Volkan Kavas, Assoc. Prof. Dr., İzmir University of Economics, Faculty of Medicine
Harun Kaygan, Asst. Prof. Dr., University of Southern Denmark, Department of Design and Communication
Azer Kılıç, Asst. Prof. Dr., Istanbul Bilgi University, Department of Sociology
Şafak Kılıçtepe, Dr., Kırşehir Ahi Evran University, Department of Anthropology
Emre Koyuncu, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Ankara University, Department of Philosophy
Faik Kurtulmuş, Asst. Prof. Dr., Sabancı University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Umut Morkoç, Research Assistant, Dr., Adıyaman University, Department of Sociology
Aslı Odman, Lecturer, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Sibel Oktar Thomas, Asst. Prof. Dr., Özyeğin University, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Canan Özgen, Prof. Dr., METU, Department of Chemical Engineering
Vefa Saygın Öğütle, Prof. Dr., Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University, Department of Sociology
Nüket Örnek Büken, Prof. Dr., Hacettepe Bioethics Center
Onur Özgöde, Prof. Dr., University, Department of Political Science and Public Administration
Başak Ozan Özparlak, Asst. Prof. Dr., Özyeğin University, Department of Law
Teoman Pamukçu, Prof. Dr., METU, Science and Technology Policies Research Center
Barış Parkan, Assoc. Prof. Dr., METU, Department of Philosophy
Jan-Hendrik Passoth, Prof. Dr., European University Viadrina, European New School of Digital Studies
Erkan Saka, Prof. Dr., Istanbul Bilgi University, Department of Communication Design and Management
Manolis Simos, Dr., NKUA, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Canan Sümer, Prof. Dr., Özyeğin University, Department of Psychology
Melike Şahinol, Dr., Max Weber Stiftung, Orient-Institut Istanbul
Cemal Taluğ, Prof. Dr., The Association of Agriculture and Food Ethics
Belgin Tekçe, Prof. Dr., Boğaziçi University, Department of Sociology
Harun Tepe, Prof. Dr., Hacettepe University, Department of Philosophy
Çağatay Topal, Assoc. Prof. Dr., METU, Department of Sociology
Ertuğrul Rufayi Turan, Prof. Dr., Ankara University, Department of Philosophy
Halil Turan, Prof. Dr., METU, Department of Philosophy
Aydan Turanlı, Prof. Dr., ITU, Department of Science, Technology and Society
Candan Türkkan, Asst. Prof. Dr., Özyeğin University, Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts
Aristotle Tympas, Prof. Dr., NKUA, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Elif Vatanoğlu-Lutz, Prof. Dr., Yeditepe University, Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Özlem Yılmaz Silverman, Dr., University of Exeter, Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology
Saniye Vatansever, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Bilkent University, Department of Philosophy
Stelios Virvidakis, Prof. Dr., NKUA, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Katerina Vlantoni, Dr., NKUA, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Yasemin Yalım, Prof. Dr., Ankara University, Department of Basic Medical Sciences
STS Turkey Winter School 2022 List of Attendees
Attendees of the STS TURKEY Science, Technology and Society Winter School 2022, which will be held for the fourth time this year, have been announced. First of all, we appreciate all the interest and applications. We received a total of 58 applications. Congratulations to the students who are selected for the training. The applications were evaluated independently by five different referees. In this process, many parameters were taken into account. First of all, we paid attention to the fact that the study areas of the participants overlap with the STS field. Also, providing diversity in the attendee profile was also an important criterion for us. We aim to have students discuss their research in an interactive environment while benefiting from the courses. Accordingly, we keep the attendee list limited therefore we cannot accept the requests of attending only the section of courses.
The presentations will be held via Zoom between 23 - 25 February 2022 with the support of Istanbul Bilgi University. Program details and Zoom links will be sent to all attendees' e-mail addresses in the coming days.
As STS Turkey, we plan to continue the Science, Technology and Society training activities. You can follow the upcoming announcements on our website or social media (Twitter, Facebook) channels.
Lists of Attendees
Eren Can Yaşar
Hatice Özer
Berk Yıldız
Can Bayraktar
Ilgın İrem Gündüz
Ziya Kaya
Ahmet Furkan Üstün
Gaye Özpineci
Şeyhmus Baran Yetişmiş
Hasan Hüseyin Kayış
Güray Hatipoğlu
Ayşe Ayda Gerçek
Sude Boz
Akif Sarıyıldız
Hilmi Uysal
Beyza Nur Şengün
Serra Kervanoğlu
Tesnim Gülşen
Nisa A. Yılmaz
Selin Sezen
Mert Sarıkaya
Handenur Tosuncuk
Ümmühan Söylemez
İsmail Sizer
Beyza Atasever
Gözde Sevimli
İpek Altun
Ayse Darakci
Duygu Öksünlü
STS TURKEY Science, Technology and Society Winter School 2022
Organizers: STS TURKEY Coordination members (Erkan Saka, Emine Öncüler Yayalar, Melike Şahinol, Şafak Kılıçtepe, Arsev Umur Aydınoğlu, Ali O. İlhan)
Supporters: Istanbul Bilgi University, New Media and Communication Department
Location: Online
STS TURKEY Science and Technology Studies (STS) Research Network continues its efforts to increase the visibility and prevalence of the field of science and technology studies by encouraging research and education activities in our country. In order to convey theoretical frameworks, important concepts and related discussions of the STS field at an introductory level, the first STS TURKEY Winter School was held in Istanbul in January 2019 with the support of the Orient-Institut Istanbul. The second one was held in Ankara in January 2020 with the support of Bilkent University and METU Design Factory. And, the third STS Winter School was held online with the support of Istanbul Bilgi University New Media and Communications Department as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fourth STS TURKEY Science, Technology and Society Winter School, supported by Istanbul Bilgi University, will be held between February 23-25, 2022. During the three-day training, researchers and academics from different disciplines will give theoretical and method lessons related to the STS. Program will also include the discussion section of attendees' research topics.
Due to the current pandemic conditions, STS TURKEY Winter School 2022 will take place online. The application form will be open until February 14, 2022 for students who are interested in the training. Participation is free. You can access the relevant form via the link here: https://forms.gle/zbLa2oGtuiTuAV127
Students who are eligible to attend will be announced on our website on February 18, 2022. You can send your questions to us via info@ststurkey.net and you can find the course schedule and instructor list below.
*Courses will be held in English or Turkish, depending on the title of the course. / The lectures will be held in English or Turkish based on the title of the lecture.
23 Şubat, Çarşamba / 23 February, Wednesday
09:00–09:30 Tanışma / Get together
09:30–10:30 Algoritmalara antropolojik bir bakış – Erkan Saka (Doç. Dr., İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi)
10:30–11:30 STS Perspektifinden Cerrahi: Biyomedikalleşme ve Robotik Cerrahi – Gülşah Başkavak (Dr., Orient-Institut Istanbul)
11:30–12:30 Büyük Veri ve Yapay Zeka Etiği – Yusuf Yüksekdağ (Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi)
12:30–13:30 Öğle yemeği / Lunch
13:30–14:30 STS’de Niteliksel Yöntemler – Melike Şahinol (Dr., Orient-Institut Istanbul)
14:30–15:30 Energy Transition Problems as Exemplar STS Topics – İskender Gökalp (Prof. Dr., Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi)
24 Şubat, Perşembe / 24 February, Thursday
9:30–10:30 Dreaming of freedom-machines: reflections on Rousseau, Foucault and STS – Eric Deibel (Öğr. Gör. Dr., Bilkent University)
10:30–11:30 İnsan-olmayanların failliği ve politika – Ebru Kayaalp Jurich (Doç. Dr., Yeditepe Üniversitesi)
11:30–12:30 Bilim ve Toplumsal Hareketler – Ali O. İlhan (Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, Özyeğin Üniversitesi)
12:30–13:30 Öğle yemeği / Lunch
13:30–14:30 Kapsayıcı Tasarım – Emine Öncüler Yayalar (Öğr. Gör. Dr., Bilkent Üniversitesi), Şafak Kılıçtepe (Öğr. Gör. Dr., Kırşehir Ahi Evran Üniversitesi)
14:30–15:30 Katılımcı sunumları ve tartışmalar / Participant presentations and discussion
25 Şubat, Cuma / 25 February, Friday
09:30–10:30 Yapay zeka, robotik ve hukuk – Başak Ozan Özparlak (Dr., Avukat)
10:30–11:30 Incorporating Publics and Stakeholders into Technological Decisions: Theory and Practice – Robin Ann Downey (Öğr. Gör. Dr., Bilkent University)
11:30-12:30 Bilim İletişimi – Arsev Umur Aydınoğlu (Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi)
12:30–13:30 Öğle yemeği / Lunch
13:30–14:30 Training computer vision algorithms on TV Series: Detecting conspiracies in Payitaht – Ivo Furman (Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi), Mustafa Oğuzhan Çolak (Marie-Curie Fellow, Leiden Üniversitesi), Abdulkadir Albayrak (Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, Dicle Üniversitesi)
14:30–15:30 Katılımcı sunumları ve kapanış tartışmaları / Participant presentations and closing discussion
#STSTURKEY2021: Online Conference Reminders (Updated)
Following the latest consequences due to the pandemic, the upcoming STS TURKEY Conference is postponed. STS TURKEY Conference titled "Identity Construction as a Discipline" will take place online on 22-24 November 2021. The deadline for abstracts has been extended to July 31, 2021, by taking into account the current changes in our living conditions and participation requests as a result of the pandemic.
Submissions done in 2020 within the scope of the conference will also be evaluated. For this reason, we ask you to resend your paper to the e-mail address conference@ststurkey.net. (You can send them with the phrase "[STS TURKEY 2021 Special Session]" in the e-mail header.)
You can access further announcements (call text, registration information, etc.) specific to the STS TURKEY Conference, organized with the support of Ankara University Science and Social Studies Department, from the Turkish webpage.
STS Turkey Winter School 2021 List of Attendees
Attendees of STS TURKEY Science, Technology and Society Winter School 2021, which will be held for the third time this year, have been announced. First of all, we appreciate all the interest and applications. We received a total of 112 applications. The applications were evaluated independently by five different referees. Many parameters were taken into account in this process. First of all, we paid attention to the fact that the study areas of the attendees overlap with the STS field. Also, providing diversity in the attendee profile was also an important criterion for us. We aim to have students discuss their research in an interactive environment while benefiting from the courses. Accordingly, we keep the attendee list limited, therefore we cannot accept the requests of attending only the section of courses.
The presentations will be held via Zoom on February 3-5, 2021 with the support of BİLGİ Media. Program details and Zoom links will be sent to all attendees' e-mail addresses in the coming days.
As STS Turkey, we plan to continue the Science, Technology and Society trainings. You can follow the upcoming announcements on our website or social media (Twitter, Facebook) channels.
Lists of Attendees
Abdülkadir Pala
Ali Güney
Amine Ennur Aksoy
Asena Fulya Seyrekbasan
Burak Furkan Mermer
Büşra Eser
Dijan Özkurt
Dilay Merve Temur
Ebru Kaya
Esma Aslan
Esra Şekerci
Hilal Bal
Mehmet Yeğin
Melis Okay
Merve Dışbudak
Onur Canpolat
Saadet Tıkaç
Sinan Refik Akgün
Esra Atalay Tuna
Öznur Bayrak
Musa Acar
Ayşen Arıkazan
Birce Altın
Zübeyde Demircioğlu
İsmail Yiğit
İdil Kula
Gizem Çelik
Betül Gürtekin
Bahar Özdemir
Elif Büyükkeçeci
STS TURKEY Science, Technology and Society Winter School 2021
STS TURKEY Science and Technology Studies (STS) Research Network, continues its studies to increase visibility and prevalence of the field by encouraging research and education activities in the field of Science and Technology Studies in our country.
In order to convey the basic theoretical frameworks, important concepts and related discussions of the field of STS at an introductory level; ‘STS TURKEY Winter School’ was held for the first time in January 2019 with the support of Orient-Institut Istanbul, and for the second time in January 2020 with the support of Bilkent University and METU Design Factory in Ankara.
Supported by Istanbul Bilgi University, the third session of STS TURKEY Science, Technology and Society Winter School, will take place on February 3-5, 2021. During the three-day training, researchers and academicians from different disciplines will teach theory and method courses on STS. Half of the last day of the program will be devoted to the discussion of research topics of the participants.
Due to the current pandemic conditions, STS TURKEY Winter School 2021 will take place in online format. For students interested in the Winter School, where participation is free, the application form will be open until 15 January 2021. You can access the relevant form via the link here (in Turkish). Students who are eligible to participate will be announced on our website on January 20 2021. You can send your questions to us via info@ststurkey.net.
You can find the list of courses and instructors below. Please note that the lectures will be held in English or Turkish based on the title stated.
#STSTURKEY2020 Conference [CfP in Turkish]
We have been stabilizing the STS TURKEY platform for scientists, stakeholders, interested people and artists since 2017 (and actually even earlier) in order to advance the studies of science and technology in (Turkish) society.
This year we would like again to offer opportunities to share ideas, make connections, building a bridge between humanities and social sciences, and increase the visibility of STS related research in Turkey. On this occasion, we call for a high and active participation in our STS TURKEY 2020 conference, which will take place between October 14-16 2020 at Konya Science Center, Konya, Turkey; jointly organized by Ankara University the Department of Science and Society Studies, Konya Science Center and supported by STS TURKEY. This year's theme focuses on the identity construction of STS as a discipline taking into account epistemic circularity and self-reflexivity.
The deadline for abstract submissions (both proposals and posters) is 10 April 2020. Further details about the call for papers (Turkish) can be found
STS Konzepte und Begriffe: Türkisches Wörterbuch
Wir freuen uns, mitteilen zu können, dass wir gerade ein Wörterbuch der STS Konzepte und Begriffe (Englisch-Türkisch) erstellen. Um es so partizipativ wie möglich zu gestalten, haben wir eine Google-Gruppe namens "STS Turkey Sozluk" gegründet. Diese Gruppe bietet somit eine Möglichkeit, jedes ins Türkische zu übersetzende Konzept sorgfältig und getrennt zu diskutieren.
Unser Ziel ist es, ein Online-Wörterbuch aufzubauen, welches in Zukunft gedruckt werden soll. Wenn Sie unserer Diskussionsgruppe beitreten möchten, können Sie direkt eine Beitrittsanfrage an die Google Group "STS Turkey Sozluk" senden oder eine E-Mail an ststurkeysozluk@gmail.com schreiben.
STS Concepts and Terms Dictionary in Turkish
We happily announce that we are currently up and doing a STS Concepts and Terms Dictionary (English-Turkish). In order to make it as participatory as possible, we created a Google Group called "STS Turkey Sozluk", discussing each and every concept carefully and separately to be translated into Turkish. Our concrete aim is to have an online and possibly printed dictionary at the end.
If you would like to join to our discussion group, you can directly send a join request to "STS Turkey Sozluk" Google Group or send an email to ststurkeysozluk@gmail.com
STS TURKEY 2018 Conference 10.-11.09.2018
STS TURKEY 2018 Conference will take place at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, on 10-11 September 2018; jointly organized by METU Science and Technology Policy Studies and METU Industrial Design, supported by Orient-Institut Istanbul.
Conference will be in Turkish.
For more information please visit the Turkish conference site at ststurkey.net/ststurkey2018.