Open Minds is a two-day conference which offers graduate students working in all areas of philosophy the chance to present their work and gain feedback in a welcoming and friendly environment. With two parallel sessions running throughout the two days – ‘Applied Philosophy’ and ‘Theoretical Philosophy’ - the conference seeks contributions from all areas of philosophy. Our goal is to provide a forum for discussing work in philosophy by aspiring philosophers at both Masters and PhD stages in their careers. From this, we hope that all who attend will develop valuable philosophical skills and working relationships with other early-stage philosophers. To this end, we run two keynote sessions. The first scheduled keynote talk will be held by Dr. Milena Ivanovaand the second scheduled keynote talk will be held by Dr. David Liggins. As well, we run two workshop sessions. The first scheduled workshop will be held by Dr. Justina Berskyteand will focus on securing grants and interdisciplinary research. The second workshop session will be held by Dr. Rachael Wiseman and will focus on the possibilities of public engagement.

Graduate speakers will have 30 minutes to present their paper, followed by a 10-minute Q&A.

Applications

Please send abstracts of a maximum of500 words in Word format, prepared for anonymous review to [email protected] by 30th May 2025 (midnight UK time), with the subject line ‘SUBMISSION’. Please also include a separatecover note in Word format attached to the same email containing:

Forename and surname.
Academic affiliation.
Academic status (Masters / Doctoral student).

Workshop stream applied for (Theoretical / Applied philosophy).
Paper title.
Whether or not you may require childcare support if asked to present at the event.
Whether you may require a travel bursary if asked to present at the event (for students who cannot secure funding from their home institution).

(Documents must be formatted in any MS Word-compatible software)

We are particularly keen to encourage applications from philosophers with backgrounds and / or identities which are not currently well-represented in academic philosophy, so please also add any additional information that you feel is relevant to this goal to your cover note (this information is not mandatory).

We will begin to notify successful applicants of their acceptance on 29th June 2025.

Registration details for both presenters and attendees will be issued once the speaker schedule is confirmed.

For any additional application questions, please contact [email protected]

Bursaries, meals, and childcare support

Registration: There is no registration fee for this event.

Bursaries: We intend to support the cost of childcare to enable speakers to attend: please indicate on your cover note if you may require this support. This will in no way affect the review or acceptance of your paper.

Meals: Those presenting papers will be invited to attend the conference dinner on the first day of the event at no cost. Lunch and refreshments will additionally be provided during the event for all attendees, subject to pre-registration by 25 August 2025. If you have any specific dietary requirements, please let us know about these at the point of registering and we will work to try and accommodate your needs (there will be vegan options at both lunch and dinner).

Accessibility information:

Physical access: The venue for the event is accessible, but please contact the organisers if you have any specific questions or needs relating to access. We are happy to provide detailed routes and photos of the venue in advance to help with planning your trip and will do what we can to facilitate specific access requests advised in advance. For more information on venue accessibility, including parking information for blue badge holders, please visit the UoM website: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/connect/jobs/disabled-applicants/travel-and-accessibility/.

Policy:

The organising committee are committed to providing a supportive and welcoming environment at this and each future conference. Anyone is free to leave the conference room at any time for any reason. If you have any other access requirements, in terms of equipment, reading materials, or any other aspect that will help facilitate your attendance and / or ability to present, please let us know either on your cover note or when accepting an offer to present / registering to attend.

The Philosophy Department at The University of Manchester (UoM) subscribes to the BPA/SWIP Good Practice Scheme. All session chairs will be following the UoM Philosophy Department seminar chairing policy. Details of this, along with The University of Manchester's good conduct event policy, can be found at the following location:

http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/philosophy/connect/events/events-policy/.

Conveners:

Ms. Cansu Irem Meric, University of Manchester

[email protected]

Ms. Kumru Akdogan, University of Manchester

[email protected]

Ms. Danni Zhu, University of Manchester

[email protected]

Mr. Ryan Ratchford, University of Manchester

[email protected]

Mr. Octavio Garcia, University of Manchester

[email protected]

Mr. Sihan Zhao

[email protected]

Ms. Shiqi Wang

[email protected]