Dear colleagues,
We are writing to share the invitation to a small in-person workshop entitled Lay Expertise: Empirical Studies of Lay Social Knowledge, to be held at Copenhagen Business School on 29–30 October 2025.
The aim of the workshop is to bring together researchers from across the social sciences who study how non-traditional "experts"-from citizen scientists and political influencers to patient advocates and financial YouTubers-produce, circulate, and contest knowledge outside formal institutions. We're interested in empirical work that sit at the intersection of sociology, political economy, STS, anthropology, history, education, law, media studies, and beyond.
We hope to create a lively and focused space for intellectual exchange across disciplines and issue areas. The format will be collaborative, with roundtable discussions, feedback on work-in-progress, and ample time for informal conversation.
Professor Steven Epstein (Northwestern University) will join us as keynote speaker.
Please note that we do not expect full-fledged papers for the workshop, only extended memos of ca. 3000 words.
We especially welcome early-career researchers and are offering travel bursaries and accommodation for those without institutional funding.
Please feel free to circulate this invitation to anyone you think might be interested-and don't hesitate to get in touch with me or Oddný Helgadóttir if you have any questions.
Key details:
- When: 29–30 October 2025
- Where: Copenhagen Business School
- Who: ~10–15 researchers working empirically on lay expertise
- How to apply: Submit a short abstract (~200 words) by 15 August 2025 via this form: https://forms.gle/8hhLrTitfbMzcs149
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Pedro Monteiro
Assistant Professor
Copenhagen Business School
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