4th Annual Summer Retreat Conference

Summer Retreat 2016
Saturday 4th - Thursday 9th June 2016, Dalehead, The Lake District

Every summer a group of undergraduate philosophers travel to Dalehead in the Lake District for a week of talks, reading groups, seminars, workshops, and mountain walks.

1. Conference

The conference itself will be running on the first three full days, and there is a mountain walk arranged for the fourth day. The conference format will be as follows:

09.00-10.00 Breakfast
10.00-11.30 Long Talk
11.30-12.00 Coffee and Tea Break
12.00-13.30 Long Talk
13.30-15.00 Lunch
15.00-15.45 Short Talk
15.45-16.30 Short Talk
16.30-17.00 Coffee and Tea Break
17.00-17.45 Short Talk
17.45-18.30 Short Talk
19.00 Dinner

FAQs

What's A Talk?
Broadly, a talk will be a lecture similar in structure to an essay. In fact, most talks will be based on an essay written by the speaker. As with essays, talks will usually include an introductory section, an explanation, an argument, and some potential replies. Don't worry about the length of the talk – as with essays, you'll almost certainly find yourself with too little time, rather than too much! It's a good idea to practise giving your talk in advance.

There are two kinds of talk that you could give.

Long Talk (6 slots)
The first type of talk will be around 40-60 minutes, and there'll be a 10 minute response, a 10 minute reply, and then around 10-30 minutes of open questions. For this talk, you'll need to submit a title, an abstract, and the paper on which the talk is based, and the talk will have a respondent, who will have studies that paper. Go for this option if you have a solid paper, and some ideas you want to present.

Short Talk (12 slots)
The second type of talk will be around 20-30 minutes, and there'll be 15-25 minutes of open questions and discussion. For this talk, you'll need to submit a title and an abstract, but you won't need to submit a paper, as there won't be a respondent. Go for this options if you have some ideas that you'd like to discuss.

What's A Response?
A response is a 10 minute presentation from someone who's read your essay in advance, and who's prepared questions or a critique. This is an excellent opportunity to get feedback on your work from someone who's read it, and who's there to discuss it with you in depth. The response will be given by someone at your level (for example, the response to a talk by a first year undergraduate will be given by a first year undergraduate).

What's A Reply?
A reply is an opportunity for the speaker to reply to the response to their talk. This is often a great opportunity to spark a debate on contentious issues, which is great for open questions and future discussion.

What's Open Question?
Following the talk, response, and reply, questions are opened to the audience.

What's Chairing?
Speakers, responders, and audience members are often very enthusiastic, and this sometimes needs to be managed. The chair of a talk ensures that the speaker isn't interrupted during their talk, that questions are asked only at the appropriate times, and that everyone gets the opportunity to ask a question.

This Seems Really Daunting!
Yes it does – to us all! - but after the first talk you'll settle into it, and wonder why you were worried in the first place. It's also an excellent opportunity to practise giving a talk, to have a group of keen philosophers focus on your ideas, and to be introduced to the work of others, discussion of which is usually continued long into the night. You'll be talking to a group of enthusiastic young (and a few not so young!) philosophers, so there'll be critique and argument, but it'll be in a supportive environment. So why not give it a try?

How Do I Submit A Talk?
If you’d like to give a talk, email me at [email protected] with a title, an abstract, and the essay on which the talk is based. If you're worried about how to do this, just send me an email and I'll answer any questions you have. Submissions are considered on any topic in analytic philosophy.

How Do I Write An Abstract?
An abstract is an overview of your paper. It should describe where you're starting from, where you're ending up, and how you're getting there. Nothing needs to be argued for here (that's for the essay/talk). Abstracts should be less than a page. For some advice, you might want to start looking here:
http://writephilosophy.com/guide/abstracts-and-introductions/
http://philosophy.buffalostate.edu/writing-effective-philosophical-abstract

The deadline for submissions is Monday, 2 May 2016 (though early submission is advised).

2. Travel

All travel is included in the ticket price. It's likely that we'll have enough drivers for everyone to travel by car, but in the event that that's not possible we'll organise train or coach tickets to Windermere and taxis from Windermere to Dalehead. Travel arrangements will be published in the information pack. Travel will be from Leeds, but if you're coming from elsewhere, then we can come to some arrangement.

3. Food

All meals are included in the ticket price. The conference dinner, following the first day of the conference, will include wine, but you may want to bring more for other evenings. You may also want to bring snacks. When registering for the conference, please let me know if you have any dietary requirements.

4. Accommodation

All accommodation is included in the ticket price. We'll be staying at Dalehead Bunkbarn (see picture above) in the Duddon Valley of the Lake District. The hut (as we've affectionately come to call it) is fairly basic, but it's beautiful, comfortable, and cosy. There are two large bunk rooms, one of which is usually more popular with those who like late evenings, and one of which is usually more popular for those who prefer to get to bed early. Bring a sleeping bag and pillow.

5. Registration

To register, see the Facebook event, accessible here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/theafternoonphilosophyseminar/

The deadline for registration is Sunday, 18 April 2016.

Tickets are £70 and include transportation, accommodation (from and back to Leeds), and meals.