CFP: International Society for Philosophy in Film 1st Annual Meeting: Film Noir

International Society for Philosophy in Film

Call for Abstracts

Film Noir and Philosophy

First Annual Meeting

August 26th-27th, 2022

London, England

Mission Statement: The International Society for Philosophy in Film (ISPiF) promotes philosophical engagement with film by conceiving film as a form or expression of thought. Rather than mere sources of entertainment or objects for aesthetic scrutiny, films express ideas and arguments worth engaging. From the perspective of ISPiF, to engage films philosophically means to think through, along with, and/or against films, to make sense of them, to learn from them, and to further expand the practice, study and teaching of philosophy into new regions through engagement with film.

Theme: Film Noir

Abstract Deadline April 1, 2022

(Completed papers due July 15th)

The Society for Philosophy and Film invites extended abstracts for its first annual conference, on the theme Film Noir. In line with ISPiF’s mission, papers ought to focus on developing the thought inherent to films, either individually or collectively, that fall under the category/genre/movement of noir cinema, broadly construed. Submissions may focus on any of the following themes from this non-exhaustive list, so long as the paper focuses on noir cinema:

●       Ethical issues, including: the possibility of human flourishing; the (im)possibility of locating stable objects of desire; the disintegration of duty, the conditions of the (im)possibility of loyalty and trust; the search for atonement; and navigating genuine moral binds in noir.

●      Metaphysical issues, including: the nature and construction of the self; the character of human freedom; the ontological status of time/or and memory; the distinction between reality and fantasy; and the relation between meaning and truth in noir.  

●       Social and political issues, including: the relation between individual and society; the possibility of community and meaningful projects; social decay; ideology; resistance movements; gender and sexual norms; the justification of violence, and the impact of dystopia in noir.

●      Epistemological issues, including: the nature of inquiry; the distinction between facts and values; the possibility of unwinding conspiracy; the reliability of memory; the intelligibility of experience; the possibility of objective thought, knowledge, or meaning; and the nature of perception (voyeurism) in noir. 

Submission Guidelines and Instructions:

Extended abstracts should be 500-750 words, with standard font and margins.

Deadline: The deadline for receipt of abstracts is April 1, 2022. Any submission received after midnight Pacific time on this date will not be considered.

Final papers, no longer than 15 pages, double spaced, must be provided by July 15th in order to be distributed to all participants in advance of the symposium. This is crucial to the format and success of the symposium, where authors will be provided only 10-12 minutes to summarize, emphasize, or develop further the contents of the full essay. This, combined with all participants reading each accepted paper in advance, will allow for a significant amount of time for questions, discussions and a genuine exchange in every case.

All Submissions must be received as either a Word Document or PDF attachment sent to [email protected]

ISPiF Executive Board:

Steven Brence – Department of Philosophy, University of Oregon

Caroline Lundquist – Clark Honors College, University of Oregon

Alain Beauclair – Department of Humanities, MacEwan University

Chris McTavish – Centre for Humanities, Athabasca University