SW*IP Annual Conference 2026: "Expertise"

Hier geht's zur deutschsprachigen Version.

Expertise is a central topic in both theoretical and practical philosophy, with numerous concrete applications. What exactly does expertise consist in? To what extent is it a form of knowledge or competence, and to what extent a normative status conferred through the recognition of others? To what degree should a person without expertise grant epistemic authority to experts’ claims and place trust in them? What social and political role do experts play, and what role should they play? What role do social positions and identities play in the possibility of acquiring or claiming expertise in particular domains? Where might there be cases of expertise that are denied recognition in the form of active ignorance? And what role do technological innovations such as LLMs play in these questions?

These and further questions are at the center of this year’s conference of SW*IP Germany, organized by Julia Zakkou and David Löwenstein.

Annual Conference, 12 November

• 13:00- Flexible Arrival
  with drinks and conversations
• 14:00-14:15 Welcome
• 14:15-15:00 Panel Discussion, Part 1 (German)
  with starting statements by Franziska Dübgen (Münster), Anna-Maria Eder (Cologne), Nadja El Kassar (Lucerne), and Deborah Mühlebach (Berlin)
• 15:30-16:30 Panel Discussion, Part 2 (German)
• 17:00-18:30 Keynote Talk
  Eva Schmidt (Dortmund): “Trustworthy AI Systems as Experts?”
• 19:00- Dinner
  at Restaurant “Sen Vegan Cuisine”, just a short joint walk away (self-pay)

Satellite Workshop, 13 November

• 9:00-10:00 Lilian Schwerdtner & Laura Böckmann: “Expertise versus Betroffenheit, Expertise aus Betroffenheit? Vom Ringen um Deutungsmacht im Themenfeld sexualisierte Gewalt”
• 10:15-11:15 Eva-Maria Frank: “Wessen Expertise? Zum Verhältnis von epistemischer Ungerechtigkeit und Wissensanerkennung”
• 11:30-12:30 Noemi Paciscopi: “Reconsidering Expertise in Obstetric Care: Epistemic Injustice and Situated Knowledge”
• 13:00- Lunch
  on campus (self-pay)

Both the SW*IP annual conference 2026 and the satellite workshop take place in the lecture room at ULB (University and State Library) on the campus of Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf.

Everyone interested is cordially invited to participate. Registration is free of charge and open till 1 November. Please use this registration form.

We warmly invite submissions of abstracts in German or English for a talk at the satellite workshop, which may address any questions related to the topic of expertise.

Abstracts should be no more than 1,000 words (excluding references) and be suitable for a 30-minute presentation followed by 30 minutes of discussion.

Submissions will be accepted until June 1, 2026. Notifications will be sent in early July.

Submissions should be sent by email to swip-tagung-2026(at)hhu.de and must include an anonymized abstract as a PDF attachment. In addition, we kindly ask authors to indicate in the email (not in the PDF attachment) whether the submitting person identifies as FLINTA*.

We’ll be able to offer financial support to all selected speakers who cannot rely on other funds for travel and accommodation, up to a maximum amount of 300 EUR per person.