Starting from the Actual: Working Against Oppression and Marginalization

Call for papers

Michigan State University 17th Annual Graduate Philosophy Conference

Starting from the Actual: Working Against Oppression and Marginalization

March 18th-19th, 2016

Keynote: Erinn Gilson (University of North Florida)

Faculty Keynote: Kyle Whyte (Michigan State University)

Although philosophy has long been concerned with issues of ethics, social and political philosophy, there has been a tendency in mainstream accounts to address these concerns from an abstract and privileged perspective. Philosophical theorizing detached from the actual reality of oppression within society has produced distorted understandings and helped reinforce the status quo. In our conference we want to promote philosophical theorizing that subverts such detachment and distortion. Our goal is to help create space for philosophical work that addresses oppression and marginalization from starting points of actual oppression.

We encourage contributions that are working with feminist, critical race, decolonial, transnational, disability, queer, trans, and Indigenous theories. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Intersection of multiple forms of oppression and marginalization

• Ideal theory and non-ideal theory

• Feminist care ethics and justice ethics

• Epistemologies of resistance and/or epistemic oppression

• Uses and critiques of identity-based politics

• Transnationalism, migration, and/or refugee status

• Climate change and vulnerable populations

• Political protest and demonstration

• Solidarity between marginalized communities

• Feminist moral psychology (trust, shame, outrage, etc.)

• Agency and responsibility with regard to oppression

• Analysis of embodiment and/or implications of embodiment for theorizing

• Metaphilosophical and/or climate critiques of how academic philosophy is practiced as a discipline

Submission Guidelines:

Submissions should be sent to [email protected]. They should be prepared for blind review with cover sheet including author's name, university affiliation, and email address. Papers should not exceed 4000 words. They should be accompanied by a short abstract (up to 250 words).

Submission Deadline: January 31, 2016

Notification of acceptance no later than: February 14, 2016

If you have questions, please contact [email protected].