Vienna International Summer University-Scientific World Conceptions (VISU-SWC) announces a call for applications for its 2013 summer course on Climate Studies to take place from July 1-12, 2013.

This course is a two-week high-level summer course on questions related to fundamental problems of climate and climate change, spanning a wide range of topics in philosophy, politics and sociology, and addressing historical and epistemological issues from an international perspective. Lecturers include Jim Fleming (Colby College), Roman Frigg (London School of Economics), Wendy Parker (Ohio University), and Angela Kallhoff (University of Vienna).

Climate is both a familiar dimension of human experience and a product of complex physical, chemical and biological processes. Recent concerns over anthropogenic global warming have sparked renewed attention to climate from a variety of perspectives: natural scientists are attempting to understand the record of past climate changes and the dynamics of the climate system; social scientists are investigating the human impacts of climate change, as well as opportunities for mitigation and adaptation; and scholars in the humanities are exploring historical perspectives on climate, the epistemology of climate science, the politics of the global warming debate, and ethical dimensions of climate change.
This course will engage with historical, philosophical, political and sociological dimensions of climate and climate change. Historical perspectives will receive particular attention, as will the epistemology of climate science.

The lectures will deal with the following topics:

• Climate and climate change: the scientific basis
• Historical perspectives on climate change: Enlightenment to 1900
• Historical perspectives on climate change: The twentieth century
• Not just average weather: climate as agency and lived experience
• A molecular biography of CO2
• Fixing the sky: the quest to control climate
• Chaos and climate prediction
• Is climate change real?
• Models, measurement and the construction of global climate datasets
• Simulation and understanding in the study of weather and climate
• The costs of climate change: the debate over discounting
• Science for policy: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Debating climate change: consensus, doubt and proof in science
• Precaution and policy: ethical dimensions of climate change
• Uncertainty about future climate change: experts and ownership

How to Apply

Cost of the program: 880 Euro ($1147)
Cost of Lodging: about 350 Euro ($456) for the duration of the course

Applicants should submit:

• A short educational curriculum vitae.
• A list of most recent courses and grades or a copy of your diplomas.
• A one-page statement (in English), briefly outlining your previous work and your reason for attending the VISU-SWC.
• A (sealed) letter of recommendation from your professor, including some comment on your previous work. This letter may also be sent directly by your professor.
• A passport photo.

Please make sure that all documents arrive in time because we can process only complete applications. Please send the application form, available through VISU’s website, in advance.

Participants in the course must have a mastery of the English language.

Application deadline: January 31, 2013 (Later applications may be considered if space is still available.)

A letter of admission together with a detailed syllabus will reach successful applicants by mid-February, 2013.

The administration of VISU-SWC at the University of Vienna can assist the candidates admitted in applying for funds and in the accreditation of the course, but unfortunately, cannot offer financial assistance. However, for a few gifted applicants who can demonstrate that, despite serious documented efforts, they have not been able to obtain any financial support, in particular due to economic difficulties in their own country, a tuition waiver grant, awarded by the Institute Vienna Circle (IVC) and the University of Vienna, will be provided.

Applications should be sent to:

Professor Friedrich Stadler, Institute Vienna Circle
University Campus, Spitalgasse 2–4, Court 1, Entrance 1.13
A-1090 Vienna, Austria

For further inquiries, please email friedrich.stadler@univie.ac.at or consult the IVC’s official website for VISU.