CFP: New Frontiers in Ethics: Graduate Student Conference

Recent work in ethics, political theory and philosophy has begun to challenge the scope and nature of the moral and political community. Some of these ‘new frontiers’, coming from work by gender, queer, and disability theorists, challenge our understanding of what it means to be human, and the basis of our obligations/moral relations with other humans. Others, however, have begun to suggest we must go ‘beyond humanism,’ and that an adequate morality, and political theory, must consider and include environmental concerns, non-human animals, and our relations with and to technology.

The graduate students at the University of Toronto Centre for Ethics invite papers exploring these and related issues. We welcome submissions from all related disciplines, including philosophy, political theory, political science, bioethics, etc. Those whose work is critical of the theme(s) are also encouraged to apply, as well as comparative ethical approaches (including non-Western ethics), and submissions grounded in the history of political thought or philosophy. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

●      Posthumanism

●      Transhumanism (including work on artificial intelligence and new medical ethics)

●      Ethical and political discussions of (and obligations toward) non-human animals

●      Environmental ethics and the place of environmental concerns in moral theory

●      Disability studies

●      Gender studies and queer theory

●      Global justice

Deadline for Submission: January 17th, 2014

Interested participants should send an abstract of their paper, not exceeding 500 words, to [email protected]. Submissions must be in PDF format and prepared for blind review. In your email, please include your name, abstract title, and institutional affiliation. Only one submission per author.

Panels will have faculty discussants from a variety of disciplines at the University of Toronto.  Keynote presentation and reception to take place April 25th.  Some travel funds may be available (amount and availability TBD). 

For more information, please contact us at [email protected]