Vulnerability in Context

Call for Papers

Vulnerability in Context

Workshop at the University of Ottawa

October 9-10, 2014

Co-Convenors: Patrick Fafard and Christine Straehle,

Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa

Vulnerability is a concern of both medical and bioethics, and, increasingly, of public health ethics. It is also a central concern of global justice. However, the concept of vulnerability, what it is and why it is morally salient is under-theorized in all of these fields.

This workshop aims to bring together theorists who work on conceptualizing vulnerability as an action-guiding principle in political and moral philosophy; and bioethicists and public policy theorists working on instances of vulnerability in specific health contexts. The exchanges generated by the workshop will help assess the heuristic value of the concept of vulnerability that is being developed in the context of political theory and moral philosophy.

We solicit submissions that discuss either the concept of vulnerability in its theoretical aspects, or that propose discussions of vulnerability in an applied context with a specific focus on health care provision, globally and domestically. We are particularly interested in discussions of vulnerability for the cases of organ sales, care giving and addictions but are open to other case studies of vulnerability.

Confirmed participants include Catriona Mackenzie, Joel Anderson, Samia Hurst and Françoise Baylis.

Deadline for submission of abstracts (250 words):   Jan 15th, 2014

Notification of Acceptance:                                               March 1st, 2014

Submission of Papers:                                                       August 30th, 2014

Abstracts should be submitted electronically to:
Christine Straehle

Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa

[email protected]