Situated Knowledge, Connected Bodies: Spaces, Objects, Sources, and Materialities of Gender in the Digital Age, Nantes Université, France, April 19-20, 2027
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Call for Papers
The Commission is pleased to announce the call for papers for the next In-Between Meeting of the Commission on Women and Gender in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Nantes Université – UFR Sciences et Techniques
April 19-20, 2027
Deadline for submissions: 15 December 2026
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Situated Knowledge, Connected Bodies: Spaces, Objects, Sources, and Materialities of Gender in the Digital Age
For several decades now, the history of science, technology, and medicine has undergone a profound renewal driven by feminist and intersectional epistemologies. By shifting the focus from official institutions to the margins, research has highlighted the crucial importance of material culture, vernacular spaces, and alternative sources in the production of knowledge and identities.
The production of scientific, technical, and medical knowledge is being explored not through major theoretical texts or official institutions, but from the ground up—through objects and places.
Today, this field of inquiry faces a dual transformation: while the objects of study from the past continue to be redefined, the very tools of the historical discipline are being upended by the technological and algorithmic turn. Moreover, this transformation is not merely methodological; it also reshapes the conditions under which historical knowledge can be accessed and produced. Digital access is not neutral or equally distributed; it reflects broader inequalities in resources, infrastructure, and geographical location, while also carrying an often-overlooked ecological cost.
This conference invites participants to explore the history of women, gender, and sexualities in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine through the lens of this dual materiality. On the one hand, this involves continuing the detailed analysis of the spaces (home laboratories, clinics, workshops, social networks), objects (scientific and medical instruments, technologies, computers), practices, and material traces that enable scientific production and define gender hierarchies. On the other hand, this approach requires critical reflection on our own research practices: how is the writing of history being reshaped by the shift to an all-digital environment, the glut of Big Data, algorithmic indexing, and the digitization of archives? How much leeway does the historian retain in the face of the standardization of digital models and growing political control over research data?
The conference will include a keynote lecture from Dr Brigitte Van Tiggelen and another senior scholar (to be announced).
Information for submission
Researchers who are interested in offering a presentation are invited to send a proposed title and abstract (of no more than 250 words) to Brigitte Stenhouse <brigitte.stenhouse@open.ac.uk> by 15th December 2026. Please include your academic affiliation if applicable. Talks will probably be around 20 minutes each (followed by time for questions).
Registration for the meeting will be free, but unfortunately we are unable to guarantee travel or accommodation expenses for speakers as the commission only has limited funding. If you are an early career scholar and would like to request funding to cover your travel and accommodation, please state this when you submit your abstract and include a detailed budget for your expected expenses. Options for reasonably-priced accommodation include Eklo hotels and Le SPOT. We would also encourage you to travel in a climate-conscious way, where possible.
This conference is being organised to align with the Neuvième Congrès de la Société française d’histoire des sciences et des techniques (Nantes 2027) – Sciencesconf.org, which you may also wish to consider attending.
SpaceHave a presentation accepted into the official conference programme (any role, including speaker, chair, or roundtable participant