CFP: Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Philosophical Association: Making Philosophy "Pop"

Call for Abstracts for the Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Philosophical Associatio

Conference Theme: Making Philosophy "Pop"

Keynote: Dominic McIver Lopes, DPhil, DLitt, FRSC, University Killam Professor, University of British Columbia

Date: February 14-15, 2025

Location: The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg MS

Our popular culture—including film, TV, literature (fiction and nonfiction), music, games—functions as a mirror the way windows on parked cars do: it provides an ever-present opportunity to reflect upon ourselves—in passing and with distortion. But what we may lose in fidelity and depth, we gain in pervasiveness and resonance. This call is for philosophers of all areas to show us what they find in the hall of mirrors on main street.

MPA welcomes abstracts of papers for presentation from professionals as well as graduate and undergraduate students on any philosophical topic connected to popular culture. Possible topics include: What does our appreciation of ‘bad art’ (or ‘trash art’) tell us about aesthetic value? How ought we to treat others, human, non-human (and alien if there be any), and conscious AI, should it be realized? What does popular culture tell us about utopian or dystopian societies? What insights into advancing technologies might be revealed? (E.g. Star Trek: The Original Series’ ‘communicator,’ Orwell’s Telescreens from 1984). What is the ontological status of possible worlds, virtual reality, and avatars? (How) should we compare athletic achievement across gender, disability status, and other categories of athlete? How have digital tools changed our creation of, and engagement with music? And so much more!

Submissions: Abstracts of not more than 500 words and suitable for blind review can be submitted at the following link until November 1, 2024: https://forms.office.com/r/gY00geQRnK.

For inquiries, email [email protected] or [email protected].