Digital Worlds Workshop

The philosophy departments at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and The University of North Dakota invite submissions for a virtual workshop to be conducted remotely on April 25-27 2025 . We seek papers that interrogate the way modern digital technology enhances, hampers, or alters our experience of our lived worlds.

The distinction between “being on the internet” and “being in the real world” is eroding. People can increasingly be said to “live on their phones” or other devices. This workshop aims to interrogate the meaning and structure of the world and the self as mediated by such devices. This year, we are especially interested in papers concerned with thinking about the internet from an environmental perspective, be this the way it shapes and alters our lived environments, has unnoticed or interesting environmental justice implications, alters our perception of public and private space, or the unique affordances of virtual and mixed reality environments it makes possible.

We invite submissions on these and other themes from a variety of perspectives such as environmental philosophy, phenomenology, philosophy of technology, or social and political philosophy.

The purpose of this workshop is to collaboratively develop works-in-progress with an eye toward publication. This is a pre-read workshop with each paper having a designated commenter to lead the conversation, rather than formal conference presentations. We invite extended abstract submissions of approximately 500 words by February 3rd 2025. We also invite expressions of interest to be a commenter on a paper, independent of a submission (it is not necessary to submit a paper to provide commentary). The discussion draft of the papers will be required one month in advance of the meeting for everyone to pre-read and for commenters to review and prepare feedback.

Abstracts and any questions should be submitted to: [email protected]

Further information, including programs from past workshops, can be found at

https://digitalworldsworkshop.com/