Dear all, I would like to invite you to submit two-page extended abstracts to the Fourth Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming organised by HaPoC, Commission on the History and Philosophy of Computing (http://www.hapoc.org). The symposium aims to bring together historians, philosophers as well as computer scientists and practitioners to discuss the broader historical, philosophical and societal aspects of programming. The submission deadline is 1 January 2018 and the symposium will take place on 23 March 2018 in Oxford and will be co-located with a Meeting on History of Computing (22 March 2018), hosted by the British Society on the History of Mathematics. For more information about the symposium, please see the official web page https://www.shift-society.org/hapop4/, which has a full CFP as well as links to the previous three HaPoP symposia. I'm attaching a brief outline of the event below. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fourth Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming In a society where computers have become ubiquitous, it is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of computer programs, not just from the technical viewpoint, but from a broader historical and philosophical perspective. A historical awareness of the evolution of programming not only helps to clarify the complex structure of computing, but it also provides an insight in what programming was, is and could be in the future. Philosophy, on the other hand, helps to tackle fundamental questions about the nature of programs, programming languages and programming as a discipline. HaPoP 2018 is the fourth edition of the Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming, organised by HaPoC, Commission on the History and Philosophy of Computing. As in the previous editions, we are convinced that an interdisciplinary approach is necessary for understanding programming with its multifaceted nature. As such, we welcome participation by researchers and practitioners coming from a diversity of backgrounds, including historians, philosophers, computer scientists and professional software developers. In addition to submissions in a wide range of areas traditional for HaPoP (outlined below), we especially welcome submissions that explore the nature of scientific progress with respect to computer programming as a discipline. We are interested in investigations concerning the methodology of computer programming, whether it follows a form of scientific method that allows it to increase its problem solving ability, whether its development more is akin to science, engineering or rather art, and what examples from the history of programming can be provided to support either argument. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm co-chairing the symposium with Prof. Ursula Martin, so if you have any questions regarding suitability of a topic, format of the extended abstract, or anything else, please contact one of us. The best way to contact me is to email tomas@tomasp.net. Thanks, Tomas Petricek