Society for UAP Studies Sponsors Yale Symposium on Extraordinary Claims and the Boundaries of Knowledge

Symposium will explore the empirical study of anomalous experiences and the development of interdisciplinary research methods

NEW HAVEN, CT, UNITED STATES, November 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Society for UAP Studies (SUAPS) is sponsoring Thinking about the Impossible: Where the Impossible Is Made, Unmade, and Governed, an interdisciplinary symposium at Yale University’s Humanities Quadrangle on December 4–5, 2026. The event will examine how societies evaluate extraordinary claims, interpret unusual experiences, and establish the boundaries of accepted knowledge.

Sponsors for the event include Whitney Humanities Center, Center for Cultural Sociology, Program in the History of Science and Medicine, Department of History, Department of Black Studies, Department of Anthropology, Society for UAP Studies and the Yale Program for Spirituality, Mental Health, and the Brain.

“We are grateful to the Society for UAP Studies for its generous support of the symposium and are looking forward to a panel discussion featuring several of its members. We are excited for the opportunity to bridge many scholars on this important set of topics and are excited to spark these discussions both internally at Yale and beyond,” say the conveners.

The event was convened by Carlos Eire, T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies, Ivano Dal Prete, Senior Lecturer, History and History of Science, Medicine & Public Health, Philip Smith, Professor of Sociology; Director, Center for Cultural Sociology, and Etienne Caron, Assistant Professor of Immunobiology.

Event Details

Thinking about the Impossible: Where the Impossible Is Made, Unmade, and Governed
Dates: December 4–5, 2026
Location: Yale University’s Humanities Quadrangle, New Haven, Connecticut
Symposium information: Thinking about the Impossible — Yale Symposium, Dec 4–5, 2026
Prequel talk: Jeffrey J. Kripal, November 18, 2026

Confirmed speakers include Jeffrey J. Kripal (Rice University), Bradford Bouley (UC Santa Barbara), Diana Espírito Santo (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Susan Lepselter (Indiana University), Matthew Bowman (Claremont Graduate University), and others from universities, research institutions, and the Society for UAP Studies

“The Society for UAP Studies is honored to sponsor this symposium at Yale University,” said Dr. Mike Cifone, CEO and Co-Founder of SUAPS and editor of Limina: The Journal of UAP Studies. “Advancing UAP Studies as a recognized field of academic inquiry requires rigorous interdisciplinary dialogue, intellectual openness, and a commitment to evidence.”

Examining Extraordinary Experiences Through Empirical Inquiry

A central topic for SUAPS will be its Empirical Weird Initiative, a 2026–2027 Strategic Institutional Research Initiative led by Dr. Michael C. Cifone and Dr. Michael Silberstein. Launched in May 2026, the initiative addresses methodological challenges in investigating reports of anomalous experiences, including entity encounters, altered states, and psychophysical events.

The initiative brings together philosophy of mind, anomalistics, and the empirical study of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) to develop shared descriptive terminology and structured approaches to gathering and evaluating evidence. Its goal is to move beyond both sensationalism and premature dismissal by examining reported experiences through systematic inquiry while distinguishing observations from interpretations and proposed explanations.

The initiative’s second phase focuses on exploring field-deployable methods for documenting and investigating anomalous experiences in real-world settings. This work aims to refine research protocols and support comparisons across cases and disciplines. These questions align with the Yale symposium’s broader examination of how institutions assess extraordinary claims, establish credibility, and respond to experiences that challenge prevailing assumptions.

Building International Academic Collaboration

SUAPS is developing international connections across academic research, field investigation, and public-policy discussions. In a recent development, Dr. Mike Cifone was elected to the Board of Project Hessdalen, the Norwegian initiative associated with scientific investigation of unusual atmospheric phenomena in the Hessdalen valley. In June 2026, the Society participated in a UAP research colloquium at the French National Assembly. In August, representatives joined researchers at the Hessdalen field research gathering in Norway.

Dr. Cifone also delivered guest lectures at Lund University in Sweden and the University of Copenhagen. On September 6, he presented Empiricism and Humility: Characterizing the Problem Space for a (Future) Science of UAP at the University of Copenhagen. Hosted by the Danish Network for UAP Studies, the lecture addressed methodological and conceptual challenges in developing a scientific approach to UAP research. Mike Cifone and Michael Silberstein are teaching one of the first college credit courses on UAP studies and more.

These engagements reflect SUAPS’s commitment to international scholarly collaboration, careful documentation, critical evaluation of evidence, and interdisciplinary approaches to anomalous phenomena.
Learn more:

About the Society for UAP Studies
The Society for UAP Studies (SUAPS) is a nonprofit scholarly organization dedicated to advancing the interdisciplinary academic study of unidentified anomalous phenomena. Through research initiatives, scholarly publishing, educational programs, and international collaboration, SUAPS works to establish the methodological and intellectual foundations of UAP Studies as a recognized field of academic inquiry. https://www.societyforuapstudies.org/

Deborah West
Society for UAP Studies
+1 346-320-7693
deborah.west@societyforuapstudies.org