CFP: Why Charity? The politics and ethics of charity

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 - Oxfam’s website.

"There comes a point where you need to not just pull people out of the river; you need to go upstream and find out who is pushing them in."
- Jack, a mum and blogger who once relied on foodbanks, 2013.

Helping others in need through charitable giving and work is surely just obviously a good thing. If we see that someone is starving and we have some food going spare, then it seems self-evident that we ought to give it to them. Perhaps not: perhaps charity, insofar as it hacks at the branches of society’s problems and not its roots, is part of the disease, not the cure.

There are (at least) two central aspects of this debate, which might be termed ‘ethical’ and ‘political’. The first is about what we do as individuals; the second is about the role of charity as social institution. And of course, how these aspects connect and diverge is crucial and controversial. This conference aims to think through the ethical and political issues of charity, and their interconnections, with people from diverse backgrounds: charity workers and recipients of charity as well as theoreticians on charity from a variety of academic disciplines.

Issues might include, but are not limited to:

·       Charity in “a time of austerity”

·       Charity and capitalism

·       Charity and class

·       “Philanthropy”

·       Charity and finance

·       Charity as substitute for welfare provision

·       Immediate amelioration versus long-term change

·       Paying for charity

·       The politics of charity

·       The ethics of charity

·       The history of charity

·       The theology of charity

·       Different cultures, different conceptions of charity?

·       Compulsory charity?

·       Should we campaign against charity?

The conference fee, which includes refreshments and a dinner, is £75 for full time academics and salaried workers and £35 for charity workers, student and unemployed people.

If you would like to present a paper or suggest an area for discussion, please email an abstract or outline (of maximum 200 words) to [email protected] by 19th May 2014.

[email protected]