CFP: Analytic/Continental What? Dissolving the Philosophical Divide

Analytic/Continental What? Dissolving the Philosophical Divide

23rd Annual CUNY Graduate Student Philosophy Conference
April 2, 2020 @ The Graduate Center CUNY, New York City

In collaboration with SWIP-Analytic for this year’s SWIP-Analytic Annual Graduate Student Essay Prize of $250 (scroll down for details)

Conference email: [email protected]

Keynote Speaker: Talia Mae Bettcher (California State University, Los Angeles)

The 23rd Annual CUNY Graduate Student Philosophy Conference invites graduate students to submit their work engaging with philosophical topics and traditions that consider or bridge the analytic/continental divide. The analytic/continental division typically assumes contrasting notions of what philosophy ‘is’ and what it ought to be. The divide also describes the varying methodologies employed when we practice philosophy. Whether it refers to meta-philosophical commitments or strategies used, the divide can do exactly that – divide. When concerned with the nature of philosophy and how one ought to conceive of the practice the stakes can be high; when we ask, “What counts as philosophy?” we implicitly ask, “What doesn’t ‘count’ as philosophy?” This conference aims to explore issues that need to be explored by the philosophical community at large, especially when the legitimacy of certain practices are under scrutiny. The conference also aims to create a space where we can learn to ask better questions concerning the nature of our academic practices, the traditions we draw from, the methodologies we employ, and the topics we consider.

We are particularly interested in papers from all areas of philosophy that:

• explore the meta-philosophical or sociological questions concerning the analytical/continental divide without exclusionary border-policing. Is such a divide legitimate? What has motivated this divide? What are the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the divide? How can we bridge or dismantle the divide? Etc.
• broadly engage with the question of "what can philosophy be?" How can philosophy establish fewer borders and more bridges?
• engage with philosophers (i.e. Rorty, Badiou, Williams, etc.), philosophical topics (i.e. race, gender, coloniality, etc.), and/or traditions (i.e. critical race theory, feminist philosophy, queer theory, postcolonial/decolonial theory, etc.) that have always or currently do bridge the analytic/continental divide, again without exclusionary border-policing.
• explore the analytic/continental divide in an interdisciplinary manner drawing from sociology, critical psychology, gender studies, race studies, literature, history, the arts, etc. The conference is committed to providing a platform for marginalized persons and topics in the discipline. In answering some of the questions presented we highly encourage papers regarding, among other topics: critical race theory, feminist philosophy, queer theory, trans philosophy, and disabilities studies. 

Speakers from marginalized groups in the discipline are strongly encouraged to submit. Any abstracts that aim to discredit already marginalized philosophers or philosophies are strongly discouraged.

We are pleased to invite abstracts sufficiently in the spirit of the project theme of no more than 350 words, excluding references.

Abstracts should:

• Outline the paper’s principal argument(s).
• Give a good sense of the paper’s philosophical contribution(s).
• Be anonymized. 

The deadline for abstracts is February 1st, 2020 (extended from January 25th). Anonymized abstracts should be e-mailed to [email protected].

Please include with your submission a cover page that includes your name, affiliated institution, contact information, and title of paper. Speakers who are accepted on the basis of their abstracts will have the option to submit their papers by an early deadline if they wish to have a commentator.

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To encourage graduate scholarship and student participation in the 23rd Annual CUNY Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, SWIP-Analytic is collaborating with The Graduate Center, CUNY for this year’s SWIP-Analytic Annual Graduate Student Essay Prize.

All student papers accepted for presentation at the CUNY conference will be considered; of these student presenters, one student’s paper will be awarded the 2020 SWIP-Analytic Annual Graduate Student Essay Prize of $250.

We invite women and other gender-minorities to submit abstracts and papers engaging with philosophical topics and traditions that consider or bridge the analytic/continental divide.

Abstracts must first be submitted to the 23rd Annual CUNY Graduate Student Philosophy Conference on February 1st (Extended deadline from January 25th). Accepted abstracts must be followed up with a 3000-word paper by Mar 12 to be considered for the essay prize.

Submission Timeline and Requirements:

(1) Feb 1st (Previously Jan 25th), 2020: a pdf, .doc, or .docx of a maximum 350-word anonymized abstract to [email protected]. Please include with your submission a cover page that includes your name, affiliated institution, contact information, and title of paper.

(2) Mar 12, 2020: a pdf, .doc, or .docx of a maximum 3000-word anonymized paper to both [email protected] and [email protected].

(3) Notifications of decisions will be sent by Mar 30. Please send any questions to [email protected].

(4) Apr 2, 2020: paper presentation at the 23rd Annual CUNY Graduate Student Philosophy Conference.