The 2009 meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology will take place from Sunday, 12 July, through Thursday, 16 July, at Emmanuel College, St. Lucia, in Brisbane, Australia. The call for papers is appended below the fold.

ISHPSSB brings together scholars from diverse disciplines, including the
life sciences as well as history, philosophy, and sociology of science.
The ISHPSSB biennial summer conferences are known for their innovative,
transdisciplinary sessions and for fostering informal, cooperative
exchanges and on-going collaborations among a variety of international
scholars. This will be the first meeting to be held in the southern
hemisphere.

The aim of the conference is to facilitate the exchange of research
ideas and results across a range of fields. The submission of papers
and sessions on any topic within the society's scope is welcomed. We
also encourage the submission of posters, workshops, and general
interest sessions based on themes identified in session proposals. It is
our goal to develop a program that will allow maximal interactions,
while also giving people the chance to present their ideas to their
colleagues.

Meeting near the Great Barrier Reef in the year of the 150th anniversary
of the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species and the 200th
anniversary of Darwin's birth and the publication of Jean Baptiste
Lamarck's Philosophie Zoologique, we suggest some possible ideas for
proposals, including: (1) Darwinism from different perspectives,
including future perspectives on Darwinism; (2) The history, philosophy,
social studies, and theory behind current debates about the genetics of
evolutionary change; (3) The history, philosophy, social studies, and
biology of coral reefs-a subject that engaged Darwin and which is now
the subject of much attention related to the global environmental
crisis; (4) The nature of amateur participation in science, especially
"citizen science" that encourages stakeholders of various kinds to
protect the coastal environment, and the role of NGOs in shaping science
policy; and (5) Topics such as biodiversity, biogeography, and
systematics. Submissions on other subjects that reflect an individual's
current area of research, however, are also welcomed.

Scholars wishing to attend the meeting are invited to submit session and
paper proposals on the ISHPSSB website:
http://www.ishpssb.org/meeting.html. Deadline for submissions is 1
February 2009. Abstracts should not exceed 500 words; instructions for
using the abstract submission system can be found at:
http://www.ishpssb.org/meetingsubmissioninstructions.html. To facilitate
collaboration in putting together sessions, a forum is available on the
ISHPSSB website to post ideas and solicit participants for sessions and
discussion panels: http://www.ishpssb.org/phorum/index.php?18

Acceptance decisions will be communicated in early March. Graduate
students are especially encouraged, and there will be opportunities
available for obtaining travel funding. Information on registration and
accommodation will be provided on the conference website.

Please direct any inquiries to the Program Co-Chairs:

Manfred Laublicher: Manfred.Laubichler@asu.edu

Marsha Richmond: Marsha.Richmond@wayne.edu