CFP: Free Speech, Public Deliberation, Global Affairs Conference

The aim of the conference is to provide a robust forum for exploring contemporary problems of democratic deliberation and freedom of speech on a local and global level. Special emphasis will be placed on the interplay between democratic legitimacy and freedom of speech.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

- freedom of speech and democracy

- freedom of speech, plurality, and civility norms

- freedom of speech and human rights

- justifications for protecting and suppressing freedom of speech

- harmful speech and religion

- deliberative democracy, preferences, and interests

- deliberative capacity and participation

- deliberation and comprehensive secular and religious worldviews

- deliberative democracy and ideology

- pluralism, religion, and accepted public reasons

- challenges from agonist and convergence conceptions of democratic engagement

- global governance, accountability, and deliberation

- global democracy and international relations

- global democratic polity and nation states

Please submit abstracts as email attachments to: [email protected]. Abstracts should be submitted as .pdf files, and not exceed 500 words. Please put ‘Conference Abstract Submission’ as the subject of your email and include your name, departmental affiliation, email address, and the title of your paper in the body of the email. Abstracts should be prepared for blind review; please ensure that your abstract is free from identifying personal details. Please note that participants who need visa and a formal letter of invitation, should submit their abstract by 15 February 2014, in order to receive the notification of result by 1 March 2014.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 15 MARCH 2014

NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS: 30 APRIL 2014

Participants presenting papers at the conference can apply to have some of the expenses for accommodation covered. Participants at the conference will get hotel rooms at special rates at Quality Hotel Saga located in the center of Tromsø. There is no conference fee, and the conference dinner is free of charge to conference participants. We can cover travel expenses only for a limited number of participants. For further information and updates about the conference, please visit our website: http://uit.no/free-speech-and-public-deliberation.

For questions, please contact: Erik Christensen, e-mail: [email protected], or Tomasz Jarymowicz, e-mail: [email protected]. Please note that abstracts should be submitted to: [email protected].

The conference is organized by the Pluralism, Democracy, and Justice Research Group, and the Department of Philosophy at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, supported by the Research Council of Norway.

Organizing Committee

Ph.D. Candidate Tomasz Jarymowicz

Dr. Øyvind Stokke

Dr. Erik Christensen