Inclusion Beyond Face Value: Philosophy of/with Social Justice

It’s often said that what distinguishes philosophy is its self-reflexive nature. In this conference, we propose to turn the lens on social justice philosophy itself. This conference will examine two threads of what might be called the metaphilosophy of social justice:

1. The philosophy of social justice philosophy

• What aims & methods should social justice philosophy have?
• Is the current state of social justice philosophy well-oriented towards those aims?
• What is the role of social justice philosophy? Should we really be waiting for theory to «trickle down»? Or is it time for philosophers (& academic theorists more generally) to take a different approach?
• Is there something to the “ivory tower” critique of academia – are philosophers sometimes out of touch with the material reality of oppression? What can be done about this?

2. Philosophical practice under the lens of social justice

• Does philosophical practice itself meet principles of social justice? That is to say, is academic philosophy inclusive? Is it fair?
• From admissions to in the classroom to publishing, current practices of academic philosophy present numerous challenges for minorities. These obstacles, which are often invisible to the majority of practitioners, disproportionately affect (inter alia) women, non-native English speakers, the disabled, & the socioeconomically disadvantaged. Bringing these issues of exclusion to the fore, how do they affect philosophical practice?
• What are the advantages & disadvantages of the argumentative-dialogical model of doing philosophy? What other models might we imagine for philosophical practice?

Keynote speakers

The keynote speakers will be:

• Esa Díaz-Léon (University of Barcelona)
• Mari Mikkola (University of Amsterdam)
• Asya Passinsky (Central European University)

Submission

The deadline for abstracts is July 1, 2022. Authors will be notified of accepted manuscripts by July 15, 2022. We strongly encourage early-career scholars from underrepresented backgrounds in philosophy to apply.

Presentations will be 60 minutes long (typically, 30m presentation + 30m Q&A). The main mode of presentation is planned to be hybrid. The conference is also open to original ways of doing & presenting philosophy (e.g., dialogues, panel discussions).

Please submit an abstract in Word or PDF (max 500 words excluding references) detailing the main argument, conclusions, & upshot via the Google Form. Do NOT include identifying information in the abstract; abstracts will be reviewed anonymously.

Financial support: We have a limited budget for travel support. Please check with your home university for conference grants. If you would like to be considered for financial support, please briefly describe your situation in the Google Form.

For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit our website