CFP: Diverse Lineages of Existentialism: Africana, Feminist, and Continental Philosophy

CALL FOR PAPERS

Diverse Lineages of Existentialism: Africana, Feminist, and Continental Philosophy

http://www.siue.edu/existentialism

Speakers:  Lewis Gordon (Keynote), Debra Bergoffen, Robert Bernasconi, Eduardo Mendieta, Mireille Fanon-Mendes-France

June 19-21 2014
Hyatt Regency at the Arch, St. Louis, Missouri

http://www.hyattregencystlouis.com/

Submission Deadline: January 6, 2014.

In recent years, existentialism has been revitalized by a new generation of scholars investigating a wide range of questions, including those of gender and race. They have brought to light ways in which existentialism has shaped, and been shaped by, Africana philosophy, Latin American philosophy, feminism, and the work of literary writers such as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and more recently Alice Walker and Toni Morrison.

But much work remains to be done. Research on existentialism has been hampered by the isolation of scholars: some focus on Sartre, while others focus on Beauvoir, Fanon, or Merleau-Ponty; some devote their work to questions of race and others to gender; and some scholars emphasize literary texts, while others emphasize the more straightforwardly philosophical works.

Initiated by the publication of the Beauvoir Series at the University of Illinois Press, the goal of the conference is to overcome this isolation, bringing together a wide variety of scholars to share their research on the diverse lineages of existentialism.

Research questions include:
1. How have existentialist conceptions of freedom shaped, and been shaped by, feminist and postcolonial thought?
2. In what ways can the category of the Other, as conceived by existentialists, inform our understanding of oppression in its various forms?
3. How can we understand the connections between existentialism and Latin American liberation philosophy?
4. How has existentialist thought been shaped by non-existentialist thinkers such as Henri Bergson and Georges Bataille?
5. What is the relationship between the existentialisms of Sartre and Beauvoir?
6. How is existentialism relevant to questions in feminism and race theory?

Submission Deadline: January 6, 2014

Subject line of email should read: DLE Submission

Papers should be submitted to: [email protected]

Guidelines: Papers of no more than 3000 words should be prepared for anonymous review and submitted as a Word document. The document must include: paper title, abstract of 100-250 words, and your paper, with no identifying information. The word count (max. 3,000) should appear on the top of the first page of your paper. In the body of the email message, please include: your paper title, name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, surface mail address, phone number, and any A-V needs. Also indicate if you wish to have the paper considered for “Best Beauvoir Paper by a Graduate Student” or “Best Beauvoir Paper by a Junior Scholar” and your qualifying status (see below). All submissions will be anonymously reviewed.  Subject line of email should read: DLE Submission. Papers should be submitted to: [email protected]

For further information contact:

Margaret A. Simons, Chair, Conference Committee: [email protected]

Beauvoir Paper Prizes: There are two awards for conference paper submissions: Best Beauvoir Paper by a Junior Scholar and Best Beauvoir Paper by a Graduate Student.  To be eligible for the Junior Scholar award you must have earned a Ph.D. in the last five years (no earlier than January of 2009). All currently enrolled graduate students are eligible for the Graduate Student award.

The prize for each award is $100 plus the complete five-volume set of the Beauvoir Series from the University of Illinois Press. The award-winning submissions will be selected through an anonymous review process. You must declare your desire to be considered for an award and your status as a graduate student or as a junior scholar on the cover sheet that accompanies your submission, which has been prepared for anonymous review. Please indicate if your paper is being submitted to one of the societies organizing program sessions at the conference (to be considered for a prize, papers must be submitted for anonymous review as indicated in the Guidelines above).

Winners will be notified by April 15, 2014.

Societies organizing conference program sessions:

Caribbean Philosophical Association: http://www.caribbeanphilosophicalassociation.org/

Collegium of Black Women Philosophers: http://www.cbwp.ktgphd.com/

Merleau-Ponty Circle: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/phl/impc/

North American Sartre Society: http://sartresociety.org/

PhiloSOPHIA: http://www.philosophiafeministsociety.org/

Roundtable on Latina Feminism: http://sites.jcu.edu/lfr/

Simone de Beauvoir Society: http://beauvoir.weebly.com/

For information on program submissions to these societies, please contact:

Caribbean Philosophical Association: Lewis Gordon, [email protected]

North American Sartre Society: Matt Eshleman, [email protected]

Simone de Beauvoir Society: Margaret A. Simons,  [email protected]

Registration:

Registration (if paid prior to June 1, 2014):

Individual: $100*

Student/Emeritus/Underemployed: $45*

*Registration paid after June 1, 2014 will increase for all categories by $10.

Conference committee:

Margaret A. Simons, Chair, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville [email protected]; Matt Eshleman, University of North Carolina Wilmington; Lewis Gordon, University of Connecticut Storrs; Bryan Lueck, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; Debbie Mann, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Sponsors: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville: Philosophy Department, Cuban & Caribbean Center, Graduate School, and Foundation; Penn State University and the Collegium of Black Women Philosophers; Washington University: Departments of History and Philosophy; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program; and the Law School: Law, Identity, and Culture Initiative; University of Connecticut-Storrs; University of Illinois Press; University of Missouri-St Louis: Philosophy Department; Webster University: Philosophy Department