[Soups-announce] Call for Submissions – Workshop: Mapping the Frictions - Human‑Centred Security Meets Social Sciences (SOUPS 2026)

[Zinaida Benenson]

Workshop at SOUPS 2026 in Hannover, Germany: https://soups.page
Date: Sunday, August 23, 2026, from 1 pm to 6 pm
https://nexusinstitut.de/workshop-at-symposium-on-usable-privacy-and-security

Have you ever worked in a team consisting of human-centred security 
researchers and social scientists? Or maybe you talked to the “other” 
side at a conference, and wondered why it is so difficult to understand 
each other?

Although human-centred security frequently “borrows” research methods 
from social sciences, such as interviews, surveys or ethnographic 
observations, there is a tension between social sciences and 
human-centred security. This tension is based on different ways of 
thinking, also called epistemological differences in the language of 
social sciences. In this workshop, we want to dive deeper into 
frictions, contradictions and misunderstandings between these 
disciplines, and map them out in collaborative work.

We solicit extended abstracts (max. 2 pages long) that describe points 
of friction between social sciences and human-centred security. These 
can be, but are not limited to:

• Experiences in working together (successful, half-successful and failed)
• Reflections on methods used in one's own research
• What one would like to learn from the “other” side
• What one would like the “other” side to understand or to use

The submissions should not be anonymised.

In the workshop, we will work together in groups to map out these points 
of friction. The goal is not to make them disappear, but to make them 
explicit, tangible and negotiable and turn them into benefits for both 
sides.

Timeline:
Submission deadline: Thursday, May 28, 2026
Author notifications: Thursday June 11, 2026
Final extended abstracts due: Thursday, June 25, 2026
Workshop: Sunday, August 23, 2026, from 1 pm to 6 pm
Submission link: 
https://cloud.nexusinstitut.de/apps/forms/s/8f7MDrjqKSjwFaEiMLeZE8nY

With questions, please reach out to Dennis Eckhardt: dennis.eckhardt at fau.de

Organizers:

• Zinaida Benenson, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
• Dennis Eckhardt, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
• Alexandros Gazos, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
• Daniel Guagnin, nexus Institute for Cooperation Management and 
Interdisciplinary Research
• Laura Kocksch, Aalborg University Copenhagen
• Katharina Krombholz, CISPA Helmholtz Centre for Information Security
• Rafael Mrowczynski, CISPA Helmholtz Centre for Information Security
• Basil Wiesse, KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt