This two-day interdisciplinary workshop explores human agency in the context of social interaction and social structure. We invite academics across philosophy, psychology, and related disciplines to present new work on any aspect of the interaction of agency and disadvantage to share theoretical insights, empirical research, and practical social and political applications. The workshop is hosted by the Agency as Experience and Capacity: Social Mechanisms, Political Implications project at the University of Turku. Generous support by the Kone foundation enables us to make this event free for all. The event is organized by Polaris Koi, Anssi Bwalya and Joonas Martikainen.

Keynote Speakers

Jeanette Kennett (Philosophy, Macquarie University)
Nelli Hankonen (Social Psychology, Tampere University)
Lilian O’Brien (Philosophy, Tampere University, University of Helsinki)

Registration

Registration is necessary, including for online participation. Please go to the event's website to register. https://sites.utu.fi/agencyproject/2025-agency-and-disadvantage-workshop/

Selected papers

Ari Ofengenden (Tulane): Agency under conditions of structural inequality

Charlie Kurth (Clemson): I’m losing it! What the feeling of lost control tells us about being an agent

Catherine Dale (Leipzig): Dependent intentional action as enhancing agency

Cristiano Bacchi (HU Berlin): “Where does my psychiatric condition stop and the rest of me begin?” On the interplay between authenticity and the sense of agency in psychiatry

Aku Visala (Helsinki): Autonomy and moral responsibility in MDD

Esko Yli-Hemminki (Helsinki): A normative theory of criminal law’s person

Maria Teresa Cotrufo (KCL): Redefining sexual agency: A critical analysis of the sexual offenses act 2003

Arlene Lo (LSE): Defiance amid despair: Reporting sexual assault despite its futility

Ben Colburn & Jennifer Corns (Glasgow): An agent-centred approach to disadvantage

Russ McIntosh (Berkeley): Agent-relative prerogatives and deference to power

Daniel Vespermann (Heidelberg) & Sanna Tirkkonen (Helsinki): Existential injustice and psychosis risk: the role of harmful salience in social defeat

Amandine Catala (UQAM Montréal): From a pluralist account of epistemic agency to a pluralist account of epistemic repair

Questions?

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Polaris Koi at [email protected]

If you are participating as audience on-site and need to be included in the programme, we may be able to include you as chair of one of the sessions. Please contact Polaris Koi.

https://sites.utu.fi/agencyproject/2025-agency-and-disadvantage-workshop/