We would like to thank the following sponsors: For more specific information on each of our sponsors, please see the UT page of our website.

As you can see from scrolling across the image at the top of the page, MEPHISTOS stands for:

ME = medicine
P = philosophy
HI = history
S = science
T = technology
OS = (so)ciology

The acronym, unlike the scope of the conference, has not changed since 1981. With the inclusion of such areas as classics, anthropology, archaeology, art history, communications, geography, literature, and health studies, the acronym can only be an approximation of what this conference is about.
 
CORRECTION OF MEPHISTOS FLIER:
Panel 5, "Perceptions of Threat," and Panel 6, "Science and Policy," are accidentally switched on the flier. For a correct and more detailed schedule please see our Conference Info Page.

A copy of the MEPHISTOS flier can be viewed by clicking here (it is nearly 200KB, so if you have a slow connection, be warned).

ABSTRACTS:
Click here to see the MEPHISTOS 2008 abstracts.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
The times for all of the panels have been UPDATED. Please check the schedule for the changes.

Click here for a tenative conference schedule, a list of participants and their paper titles, the announcement of the keynote speaker, locations of the talks, the site of the banquet, and hotel information for conference participants.

The UNIVERSITY of TEXAS:
The University of Texas is a great academic as well as athletic institution, and we are proud to show it off. Click here for more information on our sponsors, on athletic events taking place over MEPHISTOS weekend, on our amazing archives, and on spots on campus to check out.

AUSTIN:
Austin is an amazing city and we would love for participants to experience it beyond the walls of our conference room. Click here for the committee's take on places to eat, spots to hear music, areas to go shopping, and sites to see.

DESCRIPTION OF CONFERENCE:

MEPHISTOS is an annual international and interdisciplinary conference that brings together graduate students from the history, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology of science, technology, and medicine. It is a premier opportunity for graduate students working in science-related studies to present papers, participate in discussions, and collaborate with other students. The motivation behind MEPHISTOS has remained the same over the last twenty five years. Planned for and by graduate students, MEPHISTOS is an invaluable opportunity for scholars within the community of science studies to share innovative ideas and research.

WHAT THE MEPHISTOS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE IS STRIVING FOR:

1. A geographical array of conference participants, not just from around the nation but also from around the world. MEPHISTOS is an international conference and we strongly encourage graduate students from universities throughout the world to apply. To this end, the MEPHISTOS Organizing Committee will try to cover as much of conference participants’ travel costs as possible.

2. An interdisciplinary array of conference participants. We strongly encourage applicants from all pertinent science studies disciplines. Further, we strongly encourage proposals related to non-Western and pre-modern science.

3. An interdisciplinary array of conference organizers. The Organizing Committee is made up of representatives from many pertinent science studies disciplines and we hope that this exercise of organizing and running an academic conference together will further foster interdisciplinary collaboration.

HISTORY:

MEPHISTOS 2008 will be the twenty-sixth time that this annual conference has taken place. It was first organized in 1981 by students at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania, and has been hosted by prestigious universities including Harvard, John Hopkins, Yale, and mostly recently, UCLA. Originally the conference focused on the history and sociology of science. Since that year, the scope of the conference has evolved considerably. Notably, the conference has become more inclusive, incorporating the philosophy of science, technology studies, the history of medicine, the fields of classics and archeology, anthropology, art history, communications, and health studies.

RECENT PAST MEPHISTOS CONFERENCES:
2007: The University of California at Los Angeles
2006: The University of Chicago
2005: Brown University
2004: The University of Western Ontario
2003: The University of Wisconsin - Madison
2002: Virginia Tech
2001: The University of Notre Dame
2000/1999: The University of Oklahoma
1998: The University of Minnesota