CFP: Southern Journal of Philosophy 2026 Workshop on Hortense Spillers

The Southern Journal of Philosophy proudly presents: 

The 2026 Workshop Issue: Hortense Spillers

An annual conference and published proceedings 

The Southern Journal of Philosophy, in conjunction with The University of Memphis, Wiley Publishing, The Pennsylvania State University and the University at Buffalo, announces the seventh annual workshop aimed at bringing cutting edge thinking to both classical and contemporary topics, with an eye to encouraging bold new directions in philosophical thought. These workshops combine keynotes and plenary lectures by leading scholars together with competitively selected work. Additionally, 2-4 graduate students are selected in a parallel competition to deliver talks during the workshop. Select presentations will be invited to publish in the lead issue of the subsequent volume of the journal. 

The 2026 Workshop will take place on April 3rd-4th, with participants spending two days and three nights in Memphis (room costs covered). Since, as a workshop, the function of this meeting is a sustained discussion amongst all participants, the expectation is that participants will arrive Thursday evening (April 2nd), and depart on Sunday April 5th. Finally, participants commit to submitting final essays for inclusion in the SJP special issue. 

The 2026 Workshop is focused on the work of Hortense Spillers 

April 3-4 

Keynote Speakers: Margo Crawford and Denise Ferreira da Silva

Submission deadline: Nov. 30, 2025. Decisions expected by the end of December 

We welcome abstract submissions for presentations engaging in some significant way with the work of Hortense Spillers.

Instructions for main program: Selection is based on long-form abstracts. Abstracts should include a title and be between 750-1000 words. They must be prepared for anonymous review with an eye to avoiding unnecessary jargon. Bibliographic material may be placed at the end and does not count toward the word count. A separate document with the author’s name, affiliation, contact information, and paper title should be included with every submission. Email both documents (either as doc. or pdf. files) to the Associate Editor of the SJP, Ms. Cathy Wilhelm, at [email protected]. The subject line of this email should read, “2026 SJP Workshop Submission.” 

Instructions for graduate student presentations: Follow the same instructions as above, but change subject line of email to read, “2026 SJP Workshop Graduate Submission.” Master and Doctoral students who are currently enrolled in a graduate program are welcome to apply. 

Note 1: Submission indicates your intention to include final versions of papers in the published proceedings; but acceptance does not guarantee publication. Final work must pass external review. 

Note 2: The editorial team is not responsible for reviewing abstracts for proper preparation. Submissions which are not properly anonymized or formatted may be rejected without notice. 

Direct inquiries to SJP Workshop organizers Jameliah Shorter-Bourhanou and Michael Monahan at [email protected] or [email protected].