The Meaning of Misogyny Conference \;is taking place from the 30th of June to the 1st of July 2026 at the University of Manchester.
\nThis two-day\, hybrid conference aims to look at the work that specifically focuses on the meaning of misogynistic and/or gendered language. The topics will relate\, but are not limited to\, the following questions:
\nWe are excited to confirm that Professor Robin Jeshion will be our keynote speaker for the event. Her work on slurs\, dehumanisation &\; contempt\, reclamation\, and expressivism has been highly influential in Philosophy of Language\, and we are very much looking forward to having her in Manchester.
\nConfirmed speakers:
\nJustina Ber&scaron\;kytė (University of Manchester): \; Hostile and Benevolent Misogyny: On the Expressive Power of Patriarchal Speech
\nVittoria Campisi (Università\; Vita-Salute San Raffaele) &\; Sergio Guerra (Universidad de Granada): \;Presuppositional Obstacles in Sex Negotiation
\nChris Cousens (University of Manchester): \; Bullshit Slurs\, Gendered Slurs\, and Patriarchy [invited]
\nRobin Jeshion \;(University of Southern California) [keynote]: \; \;The Language of Misogyny: Slurs\, Stereotypes\, and Rape Threats
\nGrace Li (The University of Hong Kong &\; King&rsquo\;s College London): \; Who&rsquo\;s Afraid when Feminists &ldquo\;Box&rdquo\;? --Reclaiming Anti-Feminist Slurs in China
\nFilipa Melo Lopes (University of Edinburgh): \; Misogynistic Dehumanization: Women as Witches [invited]
\nAmanda McMullen (University of Arkansas): \; The Context-Sensitivity of Extreme Manosphere Language
\nMengyuan Qi (University of Pittsburgh): \; Event Labels [online]
\nAyşe Seda Umul (Independent Researcher): \; The Meaning of Misogynist: An Internal Critique of Manne
\nAlba Moreno Zurita (University of Santiago de Compostela) &\; Dan Zeman (University of Porto \;[invited]: Misogyny Beyond Neutral Counterparts: Gendered Slurs as Norm Enforcement
\nRegistration
\nAttendance is free\, but registration is necessary. To register\, follow this link: \;https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=B8tSwU5hu0qBivA1z6kadw1oO2vAu6FBgwNOb0QPdvNUMDQ0UTlIMFkwUFVENUhZMDUySlpMT0xUWC4u \;
\nFunding
\nThis conference is part of Justina's Early Career Fellowship project titled The Language of Misogyny: Meaning\, Function and Possible Interventions\, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the University of Manchester.
\nOrganising Committee:
\nJustina Ber&scaron\;kytė\, justina.berskyte@manchester.ac.uk
\nAdelina Valoschi\, adelina-dalia.valoschi@manchester.ac.uk \;
ORGANIZER;CN="Justina Berškytė";CN=Adelina Valoschi: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260527T140626Z DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260902T090000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260904T170000 SUMMARY:MANCEPT Workshop - Speciesism\, Power and Human Prejudice UID:20260604T131621Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-6b96c54f56-bljdq TZID:Europe/London LOCATION:Manchester Center for Political Theory\, University of Manchester\, Oxford Road\, United Kingdom DESCRIPTION:Speciesism has become a central concept in moral\, social and political scholarship and movements concerning animals. Broadly understood\, speciesism refers to discrimination based on species-membership and is often compared to racism and sexism. Nonetheless\, unlike racism and sexism\, speciesism is still generally regarded as an acceptable bias by the public and\, also amongst philosophers\, opinions diverge.
\nNowadays\, most philosophers reject forms of speciesism which rely merely on membership in the human species. However\, anthropocentric approaches which are justified in more indirect terms are widespread. Indeed\, these have received renewed defences recently &ndash\; including accounts which rely on rationality or social categories\, among others.
\nThis raises pressing metaphysical\, normative and epistemic concerns about what it means to be a human\, whether anthropocentric approaches to moral and political theory can be successfully defended\, and a wider question about why philosophers might be compelled to defend them at all. At the same time\, there are a variety of related concerns that are more overtly political in character\, which theorists of race and gender attend to\, but which are under-addressed in the literature on animals. These include issues regarding systems of power\, structural injustice\, social hierarchy\, domination and oppression.
\nThis panel is therefore broadly concerned with the following question: if speciesism is similar to racism and sexism\, what lies behind the former&rsquo\;s largely unchecked dominance in our thinking\, conduct and social structures? And how might we better understand its continued socio-political power\, within and beyond analytic political and moral philosophy? The panel will consider a range of related sub-questions including\, but not limited to\, the following:
\nConfirmed speakers: Hannah Battersby (KU Leuven)\, Catia Faria (Complutense University of Madrid)\, Franç\;ois Jacquet (Université\; de Strasbourg)\, Matthew Wray Perry (University of Sheffield) and Valé\;rie G. Topf (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem).
\nFor remaining speaker slots\, we invite submissions of abstracts of 250&ndash\;300 words from scholars within philosophy\, political science\, law\, animal studies\, and related disciplines. Abstracts should be suitable for a presentation of roughly 20-30 minutes. Please email your anonymised abstract to valerie.topf@unipv.it by 11th May 2026. Responses to submitted abstracts will be provided by 22nd May 2026.
\nPlease note that registration\, travel and accommodation fees must be covered by speakers themselves. Information on current registration fees &ndash\; and bursaries for accepted abstracts &ndash\; will be available on the MANCEPT website. This year&rsquo\;s edition of the workshops will take place in-person only.
ORGANIZER;CN=Hannah Battersby;CN=Matthew W. Perry;CN="Valérie G. Topf": METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR