Dear members of the working group, dear members of the IAPH, dear interested Scholars,

I would like to cordially invite you to the activities planned by the Working Group on Women in the History of Philosophy within the framework of this year’s congress of the German Society of Philosophy.

As was the case three years ago, our activities will be coordinated with the group of the International Association of Women Philosophers (IAPH).

On Tuesday, 24. September, from 9 to 11 a panel (F2) of the Working Group on Women in the History of Philosophy and the IAPH will take place.

On Tuesday, 24. September, 6 pm (room F234) we cordially invite you to a network meeting.

We would be delighted if you came to see the activities of the AG. Plans will be made, ideas will be found and common projects will be realised. Please make a note of the AG’s annual conference, which will take place on 11-12 April. April 2025 with the working title: Philosophers on Economy, Politics and Society.

The events are open to all interested parties. Feel free to write to me if you have any questions.

Detailed programme:

The AG Women in the History of Philosophy (*2017)

https://www.dgphil.de/ags/allgemein/frauen-in-der-geschichte-der-philosophie

The study of the history of women philosophers has developed into an important area of critical research in the history of philosophy. The Working Group in the German Society for Philosophy is a place of exchange and information on the history of women philosophers. Research and teaching are given equal consideration. Numerous workshops and conferences, online and in person, invite us to share and expand our knowledge.

The meetings offer the opportunity to meet members, active researchers and teachers, to network and to plan joint activities.

Within the framework of this year’s Philosophy Congress in Münster: #Digital Thinking, the theme is also reflected in the topics of the speakers.

Tuesday 24.09.2024, 9:00 – 11:00 FROM ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL – Panel of the Panel of the DGPhil AG Women in the History of Philosophy and the International Association of Women Philosophers (Room F2)

Ursula Martin: Mary Somerville and Ada Lovelace: networks in the making of nineteenth-century British science

Mary Somerville (1780-1872) was a bestselling Scottish writer on science and mathematics: the English aristocrat Ada Lovelace (1815-1853) published an article on computing that now seems remarkably prescient. Self-taught, both were excluded from universities and scientific institutions such as London’s Royal Society.  Today, their work is often described as ‘translations’ and ‘popular scientific writing’, reflecting and reinforcing their seemingly marginal position.  Yet both were fluent in several languages and were active members of British and European scientific networks of men and women who corresponded, exchanged visits and read each other’s work.  Their writings deserve to be seen as mainstream contributions to nineteenth-century scientific discussions.

Biography: Ursula Martin is Professor Emerita of the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford. A distinguished researcher at the interface of mathematics and computer science, she has published widely on the use of computation and artificial intelligence in mathematical proof and its wider implications for mathematical practice.  She led the first examination of Ada Lovelace’s mathematical archive and is the author of a popular book on Lovelace. In recent years she has worked closely with Oxford libraries and museums to find new ways of telling the story of the origins of computing and AI.

Sabine Thürmel: Current Developments in Computer Science from the Perspective of Women in the Humanities

Curiositas mater sapientiae est (Roman proverb: curiosity is the mother of wisdom): this is especially true for female humanities scholars assessing current developments in computer science. Each of the scholars presented in this lecture has developed a unique perspective and a specific approach.  The depth and timeliness of their contributions will be demonstrated by focusing on their work on generative AI and their publications in 2023 and 2024.

Sabine Thuermel is an independent researcher and lecturer at the Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany. Her background is in both computer science (Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1989) and philosophy (Ph.D. in Philosophy of Science and Technology in 2013). An overview of her interdisciplinary work on the foundations and effects of culture-changing information technologies can be found on her website http://www.sabinethuermel.de/, where computer science meets philosophy.

Pedro Pricladnitzky Philosophical Connections: Exploring the Digitisation of Brazilian Women Philosophers from Paderborn to Brazil”.

This paper explores the digitisation of Brazilian women philosophers, highlighting their philosophical contributions and historical significance. It examines how digital platforms preserve and disseminate their work, addressing their underrepresentation in philosophy. The Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists plays a crucial role in providing a framework for digitisation and preservation, thus facilitating the integration of these philosophers into the global canon.

Pedro Pricladnitzky is a researcher at the Centre for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists at the University of Paderborn. His work focuses on the critical digital edition of Émilie du Châtelet’s Institutions de Physique and their integration into early modern natural philosophy. He is also interested in Brazilian and Latin American women writers in the history of philosophy.

IAPH Cristina Sánchez Muñoz: Political Violence and Gender. Exclusions, Reductions and Challenges

In this paper I will analyse the role that violence against women plays in the very definition of politics. We will focus on the violence against women that takes place in war scenarios, with a particular emphasis on sexual violence. Several philosophers have worked on this issue (Brownmiller, Schott, MacKinnon, Card, Copelon among others). I will use Kate Millet’s work Sexual Politics as a frame of reference to analyse a sexual politics of wars as political violence. This will allow us to identify the main features of contemporary wars in which violence against women plays a central role as a political objective. I will present the main debates that have taken place in contemporary feminist theory on this issue and the changes that have occurred both in the perception of armed conflicts and in the legal responses to sexual violence.

Cristina Sánchez is Professor of Philosophy of Law at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.  In her academic career she has developed two lines of research: On the one hand, the study of Hannah Arendt’s thought, and on the other hand, contemporary feminist theory and women’s citizenship, within the framework of political philosophy. She has been a visiting scholar in Chile, Colombia and Mexico. She is Co-Speaker of the IAPH, Unesco Chair in Public Policies and Gender at the Autonomous University of Madrid, and member of the jury of the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

Tuesday 24.09.2024, 18:00 – 19:00 Networking meeting of members and friends of the DGPhil AG Women in the History of Philosophy and the International Association of Philosophers (Room F)

With kind regards,

Ruth E. Hagengruber

Director of the AG Women in the History of Philosophy and Director of the International Association of Women Philosophers