This conference aims to establish a sustained and systematic philosophical engagement with the city as an object of inquiry within analytic philosophy. While cities profoundly structure our social\, moral\, epistemic\, and political lives\, there has been little comprehensive philosophical treatment of the city as such. With the notable exception of Quill Kukla&rsquo\;s recent work&mdash\;which opens an important line of inquiry while leaving significant conceptual territory unexplored&mdash\;there is as yet no coordinated body of research addressing the nature\, norms\, and lived experience of urban life utilising tools and concepts from within analytic philosophy.
\nThe conference seeks to address this gap by creating a dedicated forum for philosophical reflection on the city. We invite contributions that engage with the epistemological\, ethical\, metaphysical\, political\, and religious dimensions of urban life. The event aims to bring into dialogue work on adjacent themes&mdash\;including spatial justice\, collective agency\, identity\, trust\, public space\, and belonging&mdash\;and to situate these within the broader framework of a developing philosophy of the city.
\nA central goal of the conference is to help articulate the contours of this emerging field and to contribute to setting a research agenda for future work. The main conference will be preceded by a focused\, graduate-student-led workshop dedicated to identifying new research questions and directions for sustained inquiry. We welcome submissions that draw on or engage with political theory\, philosophy of religion\, social epistemology\, ancient philosophy\, and postcolonial thought. Please see Call for Abstract page for more details.
\nThe conference is funded by the Mind Association and Clare Hall\, University of Cambridge.
\nInvited Speakers
\nQuill Kukkla \;(Georgetown): The Architecture of Agency
\nDaisy Dixon \;(Cardiff): Aesthetic Justice &mdash\; a Cardiff City Impact Case Study
\nPilar Lopez Cantero \;(Antwerp): Care-washing in The Built Environment
\nAlice Roberts \;(Cambridge): Can Statues make values 'perceptible'?
\nHeba Raouf Ezzat \;(Ibn Haldun): Order and Disorder in the City - Reflections on Human Agency
\n\nPlease register your interest in attending through this form: \;https://forms.gle/ZEBsp2V4e57etMbE6
ORGANIZER;CN=Adham El Shazly;CN=Alice Roberts: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260430T093442Z DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260624T080000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260624T170000 SUMMARY:Cambridge Graduate Conference in Political Thought and Intellectual History - "In Search of Refuge" UID:20260430T135000Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-6b96c54f56-bljdq TZID:Europe/London LOCATION:Cambridge\, United Kingdom\, CB2 1TQ DESCRIPTION:When in danger\, humans search for places of refuge &mdash\; whether in states\, homes\, or religions. Political communities have their origins in our desire for shelter. Throughout history\, what have we thought of as places of refuge? We have many reasons to seek refuge. Sometimes\, we leave our homes in search of greater economic or educational opportunities. Other times\, the places we knew as home no longer exist. How have people justified the need to leave\, and what legitimises appeals for refuge in the eyes of receiving states and communities? And what happens when a place of refuge turns out to be just as unsafe as the place we have left behind? \;
\nThis year&rsquo\;s conference will focus on these questions through the lens of political theory and the history of political thought. It will showcase papers addressing such topics as the relation between refuge and territorial sovereignty\, statehood\, religious and civil conflict\, trade and the market\, the family\, sexual politics\, racial politics\, and the environment. It will also take account of these questions in order to address some of the basic themes in political theory\, such as the purpose of civil association\, the relation between protection and obedience\, and the boundaries of legitimate force. \;
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