What features, if any, do the multifarious philosophical traditions that have flourished in the United States and other countries in the Americas share with each other? Are any of these features endogenous to the Americas rather than mere rearticulations of ideas arising from the migratory inflow characteristic of these continents? How have distinctively American ideas (‘American philosophy’) evolved in dialogue with those that originated elsewhere but took root and flourished in the Americas (‘philosophy in the Americas’)? Can we come to a better understanding of present trends in American academic philosophy by shedding light on this dialectic?

The 11th Annual Graduate Philosophy Conference at Boston University (April 3–4, 2026) will explore the historical emergence, present situation, and future prospects of the philosophical traditions that originated in or gained prominence across the American continents. We welcome submissions on any of these themes from a range of approaches, including, but not limited to, papers that engage with contemporary philosophical literature, papers that take a historical or interpretative approach, and papers that use sociological, anthropological, and political frameworks to address our topic. Priority may be given to papers that draw connections between past traditions and contemporary forms of American philosophy.

The traditions encompassed by “American philosophy” include transcendentalism and pragmatism most notably, but also lesser known movements such as process philosophy, Boston Personalism, the Hyperion Group, the Pittsburgh School, and contributions to the “aretaic turn” in ethics. These traditions were formed within a distinctive American life-world and shaped further by the international community of scholars gathered in American universities. Yet the dominant philosophical current since the mid-20th century in the American academe - known as ‘analytic’ philosophy - originated chiefly in the works of British and German-speaking thinkers. This tradition has since then developed within the United States into myriad rival strains led by figures such as W. V. Quine, Richard Rorty, Hilary Putnam, and Stanley Cavell. How have contemporary academic, intellectual, and sociological trends in American philosophy been conditioned by these histories? How uniform has the ‘analytic turn’ been across the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and other countries in the Americas? And how have philosophical currents in the Americas influenced philosophical trends in other parts of the world? We also invite analyses of how political and social movements have influenced the development of philosophy departments in universities across the Americas.

We envision an interdisciplinary conference that includes presentations on particular thinkers and movements from the history of American philosophy, contemporary movements in American philosophy (professional and otherwise), and the relationship between the two, while also welcoming historical, sociological, anthropological, and political approaches to our topic. We invite graduate students affiliated with any institution or department to submit papers on themes such as - but not limited to:

American pragmatism, transcendentalism, and their legacies in 20th- and 21st- century academic philosophy.
20th-century schools of philosophy in the U.S. (e.g., traditions associated with the University of Pittsburgh,the University of Chicago, Harvard University, and Boston Personalism).
Latin American philosophy and its dialogues with U.S. traditions.
American variations on analytic philosophy, phenomenology, critical theory, and other traditions that originated elsewhere but flourished in the U.S.
Cross-regional influence among North, Central, and South America.
The roles of religious institutions, movements, and thinkers in philosophical developments across the Americas.
Migration and diaspora (European, African, Indigenous, and other) in the formation of philosophical communities and agendas in the Americas.
The causes and consequences of the ‘professionalization’ of philosophy and American academia since the mid-20th century.
The responses of philosophers and philosophy departments to major political events (e.g. the Cold War, civil rights movements, and recent political polarization).

We are pleased to announce our two keynote speakers: Sander Verhaegh (Tilburg University) and Jacoby Carter (Boston College).

Submission Guidelines: please submit papers suitable for a 45-minute presentation including Q&A (roughly 6000 to 8000 words) to [email protected] by December 28, 2025 on any of the themes mentioned above. We will notify you about your acceptance in mid-to-late January, 2026. If you are unsure about whether your paper topic would fit the conference theme, please feel free to reach out to us at the same email address.

We aim to provide all speakers with local accommodation and cover their travel expenses.