The International Centre for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities is an nterdisciplinary oriented research center focusing on ethical questions arising out of the sciences and humanities. One of its current research projects (KRETA) examines the development and implementation of body scanners at airports from the point of view of ethics and social sciences. KRETA analyzes the development and use of body scanners. A special focus lies on people with bodies that do not confirm to standards, among them people with hidden disabilities. The opposition to the security scans for other reasons, e.g. religious ones, is considered as well. KRETA thus focuses on questions of justice and inclusion.

KRETA will organize an international and interdisciplinary conference in Tübingen. The date is June 21-23, 2012. The conference addresses various ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the ethics of security in general and the use of body scanners in particular. The topics, however, are not restricted to body scanners. More broadly, they can also include technologies of surveillance and control in general as well as other (security) technologies with an impact on people with bodily structures that are considered “unnormal”. Finally, the various perceptions and evaluations of security and the psychological effects of security measures will also be addressed.

The conference aims at bringing together experts from the social sciences and humanities to analyze and discuss the complex interrelations between security, technology, and the body. It will contribute to a deeper understanding of the ethics of surveillance and security technologies which focus on the body as well as to new insights into the relation between security and questions of inclusion.

Possible topics include, but are not restricted to:

- security - justice - equality
- psychological effects of body scanners and other (security) technologies on body
perceptions
- participation in security politics and security research
- human-machine-interaction
- social psychological research on general attitude towards privacy and security
- data protection issues
- security and the law (e.g. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilites)
- security and intercultural questions
- training of security personnel

The conference will be open to the public. The lectures will be held in English. There is no conference fee.

Scholars from the fields of social sciences and humanities (ethics, philosophy, political science and theory, sociology, psychology, law) interested in contributing to the conference are asked to submit an abstract (500 words + references) with a cover letter including name, title and institutional affiliation not later than December 31, 2011. Applicants will be notified of the decision by February 15, 2012. The abstract should be sent by email to the following address: kreta@izew.uni-tuebingen.de. Traveling costs can be reimbursed for a limited number of participants.

Any questions should be addressed to

Dr. Michael Nagenborg
Wilhelmstr. 19
D-72074 Tübingen
Tel +49 7071 2977516
Fax +49 7071 295255
michael.nagenborg@izew.uni-tuebingen.de