University of Vienna and University of Graz | What matters? Interdisciplinary Workshop on Ethical Challenges and Possibilities in the Light of New Materialisms
The interdiscinplinary workshop "What matters?" will take place 3–4 December 2026 at the University of Vienna. It aims to bring together scholars across disciplines to explore how new materialist approaches can inform ethical reasoning, methodological innovation, and political imagination.
Guiding Questions and Thematic Circles
- What socio-political, ethical and theological implications arise from applying a new
materialist approach, both theoretically and methodologically? - How can the relationship between theory and empirical practice be reflected within
a new materialist framework? - Which methodological challenges and possibilities emerge when integrating new
materialist perspectives into the disciplines of theology, ethics, social sciences?
A. Ideals of Life
B. Bodies—Minds—Machines
C. Ecology, Environment, and Gender
Target group
The intended audience is explicitly interdisciplinary, including participants from the humanities
and social sciences—such as political science, sociology, theology, ethics and related
disciplines. The workshop deliberately avoids rigid disciplinary boundaries, seeking instead to
open a space for shared reflection on the appropriation, critique, and rearticulation of the
new materialist field.
Submission
Abstracts for short papers (20 minutes) of max. 250 words can be submitted per email to workshop.newmaterialism@uni-graz.at.
The deadline for submission is 30 March 2026.
More information is available on the website of the University of Vienna.