8th Annual Graduate Student Workshop in Applied Philosophy at BGSU

Identity and Intersectionality

8th Annual Graduate Student Workshop in Applied Philosophy

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio

Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7

Online workshop

Keynote Speaker: Olúfẹmi O. Táíwò (Georgetown University)

We know that human beings identify themselves and each other in numerous ways. Many of these identities – like race, gender, sex, sexuality, ethnicity, ability/disability status, and nationality – have important normative ramifications. To take only one example, just for being members of minority races and ethnicities, people in the US and other nations face systemic oppression affecting every aspect of their lives. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and countless other people of color both past and present, and the resulting global movements, chiefly the Black Lives Matter Movement, these evident and persistent injustices have been brought to the forefront of our collective conscience. Further, the interrelation of multiple identities often leads to increased discrimination or disadvantage. This idea, intersectionality, was introduced by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, and has been developed extensively since. But there is still much that can be done to incorporate this concept into philosophical scholarship. There are plenty of additional reasons for philosophers to investigate human identities, and the intersectionality of those identities, since how we identify ourselves is a core human concern.

This call for papers is deliberately broad in scope, as there are any number of possible paper topics which could appropriately invoke our theme. Likewise, we also welcome papers that employ a wide range of philosophical fields and methodologies. Finally, we recognize that the profession of philosophy is problematically lacking diversity. Therefore, we strongly encourage submissions from a diverse background of philosophers across the spectrum of identities. We also welcome scholarship that relates to movements like Black Lives Matter, that aim to explain, expose, or resolve longstanding injustices and inequalities.

Potentially fruitful philosophical questions include the following:

• How should we understand the concept of intersectionality? How should we employ it in our understanding of injustice and inequality? How do different aspects of identity intersect, interact, and overlap?
• How and why do people identify themselves and each other in various ways? (E.g., Does identity, as typically conceived, require others’ acceptance? Is calling someone a woman or Black a form of oppression in itself? Is identification necessarily intentional?)
•  What does it take for an identity to exist, and do certain identities exist? (E.g., How should we understand the concept of race? What is the relationship between sex and gender? How should we conceive of sex and gender?)
• How do identities shape human life? (E.g., What kinds of oppression do women face, and what should be done about it? Does being a parent entail any moral responsibilities?) 
• How do systemic inequalities and problems of systemic injustice form? How do we explain them? What solutions can we conceive of?
• How have traditional approaches to the history of philosophy neglected or suppressed non-Western philosophical traditions and canons? What insights can be gained from these underrepresented traditions?

Topics areas can include (but are not limited to):

Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality, African/Africana Philosophy, Asian Philosophy, Philosophy of the Americas, Philosophy of Social Science, Feminist Philosophy, Applied Ethics, Meta-Ethics, Normative Ethics, Philosophy of Law, Social and Political Philosophy, PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics), Value Theory, and History of Philosophy.

Paper Submission Guidelines

We invite the submission of papers relevant to the topic of this year’s workshop—identity and intersectionality. As our workshop is intended as an aid in developing and improving philosophical writing, we will accept papers which are not yet of final draft quality, yet we expect submissions that demonstrate coherent and professional writing. Papers must not exceed a length of 4000 words (though papers under 3000 words are preferred) and should be prepared for blind review. Please send your paper in an acceptable format (acceptable formats: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .rtf) as an attachment to the following email address: [email protected].

Please use the following as your subject line: “[your last name] paper submission.” In the body of the e-mail, please include the following information:

1. the paper’s title

2. author’s name

3. a brief abstract

4. institutional affiliation and program

5. contact e-mail address and phone number

6. statement granting permission to distribute your paper to graduate students serving on the workshop committee and to commentators.

Commentators

Each paper will have a commentator. Those interested in commenting should send an email to [email protected] detailing availability and areas of interest. Persons whose papers were not included in the workshop may be invited to participate as commentators.

Deadline

The submission deadline is September 30th, 2020.

Guest Attendance

There is no charge for attendance. To attend as a guest, you must RSVP by emailing [email protected].

Workshop Information

For more detailed information about the workshop, which will be held online this year due to COVID-19, see https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/philosophy/workshops-and-conferences/identity-and-intersectionality-2020.html.

Contact

Email for paper submissions: [email protected].

Workshop Coordinators:

Colton Veler: [email protected]

Josh Brown: [email protected]