CFP: Feminist philosophies and method

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The research network in feminist philosophy (FemPhil) at UiT the Arctic Univeristy of Norway, in collaboration with Solidarity Society, the Norwegian network for gender diversity in philosophy, is organizing a conference on feminist philosophies and method on Oct. 23-24, 2025.

At regular intervals, the debate concerning the place of feminist philosophy and gender representation in the field of philosophy reappears in Norwegian media. The general public, as well as the students, are clearly interested! Nevertheless, the struggle to transform the traditional, male-dominated philosophical canon and get more feminist philosophy on the curriculum has proven to be a long one. Many women philosophers describe the experience of having to navigate the same old debate and defend the legitimacy of feminist philosophy and concerns about gender representation over and over again—without the situation ever changing. An underlying reason for the ongoing controversy seems to be that the very focus on representation and feminist philosophy even today continues to challenge widespread perceptions of what it means to do philosophy. On the other hand, many feminist philosophers experience that there is a widespread lack of knowledge, also within philosophical institutions, of the actual diversity and depth of feminist philosophy as historically established discipline.

For those of us working in the field, the time seems overdue for an overarching, research-based discussion about what it actually means to do or practice feminist philosophy today. In other words, it is time to return to some very fundamental questions concerning feminist philosophical methods, the stakes of doing feminist philosophy, as well as the relationship—and tensions—between feminist philosophy and other kinds of philosophy. These are complex and well-known questions deeply rooted within the feminist philosophical tradition, but which the public image of feminist philosophy, as well as the situation in many philosophy departments, only reflect to a very small degree. The conference invites contributions that shed light on the status of these questions today, and aims to bring together researchers who work on these or related topics in philosophy or other fields. Questions we hope to address include, but are not limited to:

• What different understandings of feminist philosophy and feminist method are we operating with within the field?
• What fundamental questions and interests underlie our research and academic practice as feminist thinkers and philosophers?
• What is feminist about feminist philosophy, and what is distinctive about the field in relation to other types of philosophy? Can philosophy be feminist if it is not directly about women's experiences?
• How do we read “classic” texts from the history of feminist philosophy in 2025, and in what ways are they still relevant in our time? (e.g. Simone de Beauvoir, Geneviève Lloyd, Catherine MacKinnon, Sandra Harding, Monique Wittig, Carol Gilligan, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Patricia Hill Collins, Miranda Fricker…)
• How does feminist philosophy relate to concepts such as universalism, objectivity, knowledge, truth, canon, rationality, experience, decoloniality, and intersectionality?
• How has the relationship to other disciplines and/or the question of method developed through feminist philosophy's so-called first, second, third, and possibly fourth waves?
• Given that feminist philosophy exists within many philosophical disciplines—such as the history of philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy, phenomenology, continental, and analytic philosophy—does “feminist philosophy” function as a clarifying or misleading term today?
• When philosophers argue that feminist philosophy is not relevant for their research, what does feminist philosophy mean to them?
• Is there a Norwegian/Nordic feminist philosophical community?

Abstracts (around 300 words) can be sent to Kaja Jenssen Rathe ([email protected]) by August 15, 2025. We welcome contributions in English and Scandinavian languages. You will receive an answer by August 31, 2025. No conference fee. Participants whose abstracts are accepted will have meals and accommodation expenses partially covered. Participants who do not have available means to cover their own travel can apply for travel funding, but please note that we only have limited travel funds available. More information on possibilities for travel funding will follow after the selection of candidates.