Gonzaga Graduate Philosophy Conference

CALL FOR PAPERS

What is philosophy and what are its limits and borders? What is outside philosophy and what constitutes philosophy’s other? Is it philosophy itself, i.e. philosophers, who (get to) determine what is other to it? Does philosophy demarcate its own borders? Does it have borders? Are poetry, mythology, religion/faith, art and film not properly philosophy and why? What is the place of activism or resistance, of the political and the order(s) of social life in the philosophical domain? Is philosophy simply theory or does it need to be combined with a way of life, with action? Moreover, in recent years, despite its self-proclaimed neutrality and universality, philosophy has been charged with being classist, racist and sexist, an oppressive tool of white patriarchal supremacy, a charge not limited to the prejudices of the perennial authors of our tradition but to the very methodologies and goals of philosophical pursuit itself. Are these critiques philosophical or are they meta-philosophical or are they non-philosophical critiques leveled against philosophy? The Gonzaga University Graduate Program in Philosophy invites papers from graduate students on the topic Otherwise than Philosophy. Here we are particularly interested in papers that are concerned with the limits of philosophy and philosophical discourses or with new methodologies that problematize our standard ways of viewing or practicing the discipline and/or reexamining traditional problems within the history of philosophy. Overall, we invite papers on any area of philosophy and the liminal borders of what constitutes the discipline and practice. Consistent with our Jesuit values, we are dedicated to prompting academic diversity, courage and an effort to foster a strong community of inquiry. 

Papers should be formatted for blind review and be approximately 3000 words and/or suitable for a 20-minute presentation. All identifying information such as name, university affiliation, and abstract is to be included within the body of the email or as a separate document.