Center for Canon Expansion and Change (CCEC) 2026 Summer Program

Call for Applications

Center for Canon Expansion and Change (CCEC)
2026 Summer Program

May 31- June 6, 2026

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Overview

The Center for Canon Expansion and Change (CCEC) seeks applications for participants in its 4th annual Summer Program, now funded by a $500,000grant. Participants will take part in a week-long collaborative workshop, in which they learn about figures in an expanded canon of early modern philosophy (such as Anton Wilhelm Amo, Margaret Cavendish, and Anne Conway) and cutting-edge research on them; discuss inclusive, student-centered, and equitable pedagogy (with 2 sessions dedicated to teaching a predominantly white audience in predominantly white institutions); and collaboratively craft their own early modern course syllabus. After the workshop, participants and guides will meet regularly and continue to communicate as their courses (and future versions of it) are implemented. Participants will also receive an award from CCEC attesting to their experience with canon expansion and inclusive teaching.

Target Audience

We are particularly interested in receiving applications from faculty members, though advanced graduate students, contingent faculty, and postdocs are encouraged to apply.

The workshop guides are the co-directors of the Center for Canon Expansion and Change (CCEC) as well as outside experts.

Co-directors:

Jessica Gordon-Roth, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Dwight K. Lewis Jr,  University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Guest Early Modern Experts

Nancy E. Kendrick, Wheaton College, Massachusetts
Keota Fields, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

Early Modern Collaborator/Public Lecture

Andrew Janiak, Duke University 

Remote Guest Early Modern Experts

Tyra Lennie, McMaster University

Kylie Shahar, Auburn University

Alejandro Naranjo Sandoval, University of California, Davis

Emanuele Costa, Vanderbilt University

Guest Pedagogy Experts: 

Eddie O'Byrn, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Ian Stoner & Jason Swartwood, Saint Paul College

Tamara Fakhoury, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Bennett McNulty, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Angela Carter, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Jeanine Weekes Schroer, University of Minnesota, Duluth

Archival Expert:

Davu Underwood Seru, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

The workshop is set to take place on the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus, as well as the surrounding areas of Minneapolis, May 31- June 6, 2026.

Applications

Interested applicants should submit a statement of interest (1 page outlining their interest in the program and how it connects with their research and/or teaching) and a curriculum vitae. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from faculty members, though advanced graduate students, contingent faculty, and postdocs are encouraged to apply. We especially encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups in (Anglo-American) philosophy. Faculty members with institutional funding to participate should communicate this in the application. 

Applications should be submitted online by March 1, 2026. Applicants will be notified of admissions decisions by March 31, 2026. 

For inquiries, contact Nada Mohamed ([email protected]).

About

The Center for Canon Expansion and Change (CCEC) was founded in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, in 2021 with the goal of effecting meaningful change in the way that philosophy is done, understood, organized, and – especially – taught. In particular, CCEC focuses on supporting instructors who want to teach neglected figures or a new canon of early modern philosophy, but otherwise lack the resources to do so. CCEC aims to teach instructors how to create a safe and vibrant learning environment that speaks to a multitude of perspectives and allows students to learn about philosophers with voices like their own. The idea behind this is that we tend to teach as we have been taught, and this is the way (at least in part) the canon is maintained or upheld. This also means that this is where we can best effect change: if instructors are taught to think of the canon in a broader and inclusive way, their students will too. Moreover, it’s only through changing the canon and understanding the way in which our respective positionalities affect learning in the classroom that we can be in a better position to change the face of philosophy. 

Connect:

Website: https://www.minnesotaccec.com/ccec
Twitter: @MNCCEC

Instagram: @ccec.umn