Public Issues and Public Reason: A Conference of Applied Ethics and Critical Social Sciences

Call for Abstracts: Graduate Conference

Public Issues and Public Reason: A Conference of Applied Ethics and Critical Social Sciences

                        Oct 31-Nov 01, 2019, Carleton University, Ottawa

The Ethics and Public Affairs programme at Carleton University is pleased to announce the third annual Graduate Student Conference, to be held Oct 31-Nov 01, 2019 in Ottawa, ON. The Public Issues and Public Reason (PIPR) conference is a multidisciplinary conference, where graduate students from a variety of programs and disciplines will present papers analyzing current social and global challenges through the lenses of political theory, applied ethics, and critical social sciences. Abstracts are welcome from graduate students in philosophy and ethics, law, social sciences, public health, health policy, etc. on any topic relevant to applied ethics, critical social sciences, and social or global challenges.

The PIPR conference is sponsored by the Ethics and Public Affairs programme at Carleton University. The Ethics and Public Affairs programme combines ethical analysis with the social sciences to allow students to gain a comprehensive understanding of the options for solving particular public issues. The programme is a collaboration between philosophers who research public issues and social science and public policy specialists with interests and expertise in the values underlying those issues. 

                                Keynote speaker: Ami Harbin, Oakland University

                                                    “Controlling Threats”

This presentation is part of a broader feminist relational moral psychology of fear in contemporary times, focusing on great threats in need of our attention.  What individuals perceive to be the threats in need of most urgent attention can in fact be stand-ins for deeper, less manageable threats. It outlines four strategies individuals often use to attempt to manage perceived (substitute) threats: (1) removal; (2) escape; (3) destruction; and (4) overpowering.  While these efforts may be partially satisfying, insofar as they allow individuals to feel a sense of control, I argue that the four strategies are ultimately disappointing and often morally and politically damaging. 

Instructions for applicants:

• Abstracts (with title) must be a maximum of 500 words.

• Applicants should remove any identifying information on the abstract page and include a second page with their name, email, and affiliation.

• Abstracts should be submitted to [email protected]

• Accepted abstracts will be allocated a total of 40 minutes for presentation and discussion.

• Deadline for abstract submission: September 16, 2019

• Notification of acceptance by: Sep 26, 2019

For more information please email: [email protected]