March 24-25, 2025; Indiana University Indianapolis
Scholars across the disciplines have long debated the relationship between objectivity, neutrality, and the pursuit of knowledge. Well before Thomas Kuhn introduced the concept of a "paradigm," philosophers of science grappled with the challenges of asserting objective knowledge. Similarly, historians and anthropologists have demonstrated, over decades of research, how knowledge is socially constructed and embedded in political, economic, and cultural contexts. Scientists have also struggled with objectivity and neutrality, perhaps best encapsulated in the oft-repeated phrase, "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." Most recently, these tensions have emerged on social media and in the pages of Nature Climate Action, in a debate between Ulf Büntgen and Christel W. van Eck, Lydia Messling, and Katharine Hayhoe.
In recent years, a separate discussion about objectivity, neutrality, and the pursuit of knowledge has emerged beyond academia, primarily driven by political concerns. In this public discourse, some have accused scholarly institutions and individual scholars of lacking objectivity and neutrality in their research, to the point of being un-American or "divisive." The impact of these accusations has often depended on their media traction, but they have nevertheless played an important role in driving public skepticism of scholars and their institutions. This public discourse highlights an important fact: there is a gap between how scholars practice and perceive their work and how the public perceives it. Bridging this gap in understanding is crucial for enhancing public trust in academic research and clarifying the aims and limitations of scholarly inquiry.
This symposium seeks to explore the themes of objectivity, neutrality, and the pursuit of knowledge across the disciplines. It has four primary foci:
- Charting how scholars develop methods, make claims, and develop positions in their pursuit of disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary knowledge.
- Understanding the history and evolution of neutrality and objectivity frameworks in knowledge production.
- Examining knowledge-making in the context of public life, popular knowledge, and the university mission.
- Contemplating how contemporary discussions of neutrality and objectivity shape university policies.
The symposium aims to:
- Foster a cross-disciplinary dialogue about the concepts of objectivity and neutrality and their implications for how scholars, institutions, and the public produce and understand knowledge today.
- Produce a recorded video series of the symposium sessions, making the discussions accessible to a broader audience.
- Publish an edited collection or special issue in an academic journal that expands on the themes of the symposium.
Submission Details
We welcome abstracts of up to 500 words for individual papers that engage with one or more of the symposium themes. Submissions should include a 2-page CV of the author(s). Upload proposals to https://iu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0Uu6iIcVuwHsOk6.
Deadline for Abstract Submission: January 2, 2025
This event is a collaboration between the IU Indianapolis Arts and Humanities Institute, the Institute for Human Health and Wellbeing, the Center for Africana Studies and Culture, the CEnR to Impact Health Equity Consortium, the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, the Sustaining Earth Institute Consortium, and the Ray Bradbury Center.