Just Theorising 2026

• Main Event: 27th August 2026

• Optional Additional Session: 28th August 2026

• Call for participants deadline: Sunday 10th May 23:59 GMT

Theme

Many of us theorise about groups to which we do not belong, and about issues which seriously impact groups to which we do not belong. In this workshop we will explore questions around how this theorising should be done, and whether/when such research should be avoided. 

Just Theorising is a reading workshop on responsible and responsive philosophical research. Participants will discuss the epistemological and methodological issues surrounding theorising across social difference.

Participants will discuss texts from social epistemology, applied ethics, and by marginalised people writing outside academia – all of which suggest ways to approach (or not to approach) theorising across social difference. 

Our aim is to improve our philosophical practice by thinking together. By approaching these questions collaboratively and openly, we hope to improve the philosophical and ethical quality of our future work. 

Format

This workshop involves one full day of discussions, and an optional collaborative session the following morning. 

The main event will involve a series of reading-group-style sessions, where participants discuss existing texts on workshop themes.  
On the second day, the organiser will be holding an optional session, where we will design an online resource to aid others who want to investigate these issues themselves or organise similar events.

How to participate

Because this workshop is discussion-based, we are limited to 20 attendees. This means that if we have more than 20 interested applicants we will need to say ‘yes’ to some applicants and ‘no’ to others. We hope that we won’t have to turn anyone away, but if we do, this will be decided based on who will get the most out of the workshop (not who is the most successful philosopher!). Therefore, we ask applicants to state why the workshop is appealing to them, and how they feel it will be useful to them. We are looking for an honest statement of how the workshop might support your work, we are not looking for competitive statements of academic credentials. 

• Deadline for applications: Sunday 10th May 23:59 GMT

We realise that while most participants are likely to be people doing theorising across social difference, some participants might be writing on the issue of theorising across social difference itself. Therefore, please let us know if you’d be interested in a work-in-progress session for this kind of research, either as part of this event or as a future event.

Access Information

• Lunch and tea/coffee will be provided. 
• Dinner on the evening of 27th August will be partially subsidised – we expect to be able to cover food, but you will need to cover your own drinks. 
• We cannot cover the cost of flights, but we intend to subside rail travel for those attendees without institutional funding available. We also intend to cover the cost of one night’s accommodation for those without institutional funding available. Whether we can fully or partially subsidise rail travel will depend on how many people need it, and we will let you know as soon as possible. 
• This will be an in-person event.
• The venue has a lift for wheelchair access. 
• The venue has accessible and gender-neutral toilets.
• Please let us know accessibility requirements when you register.
• We will have a designated ‘quiet space’ available. 
• We have a small budget for childcare, please let us know when you register if you expect to require this to participate. 
• AccessAble link: https://www.accessable.co.uk/university-of-leeds/access-guides/17-blenheim-terrace#a3ccb561-9415-f34f-8291-585f2c690c15 
• We want academic conferences to be accessible and enjoyable for all of us. This event adopts a Safer Spaces Policy, available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TemYNI_OitE9XaRaq83bOY5t8qi3vYS_93KpqJCpaLc/edit?usp=sharing 
  Participants are expected to read this policy, and act in accordance with it. 

This event was made possible by the Leverhulme Trust, thanks to them for funding an Early Career Research Fellowship which includes this project. This event revives the approach and goals of a 2018 event of the same name, organised by Nadia Mehdi and Rosa Vince. Thank you to Nadia for her hard work in the original workshop.

Organising team: Rosa Vince, Alethea Choo, Anne-Marie McCallion, Leonie Smith

If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Dr Rosa Vince at [email protected]