CFP: Advancing Publicly Engaged Philosophy

Call for Proposals – Conference:  “Advancing Publicly Engaged Philosophy”

October, 6-8 2011, Washington Plaza Hotel, Washington, D.C.

Hosted by the Public Philosophy Network

The Public Philosophy Network invites proposals for a Fall 2011 meeting on Advancing Publicly Engaged Philosophy.  The conference will include a mix of formal and informal sessions on various issues in practical philosophy, including concrete projects and political problems as well as discussions of larger philosophical questions about how to engage in philosophical activity outside the academy.

Please submit formal proposals (350-500 words) or informal suggestions for any one of the following formats by April 30, 2011.

Workshops.  These sessions will be held the first full day of the conference and will include a mix of presentations and discussion on either substantive policy issues (for example, climate change, gay marriage, housing policy, welfare, etc.) or practical matters and best practices in public philosophy (for example, tenure hurdles for publicly engaged work, collaborative work, outreach programs in prisons, sources and methods for funding, etc.). Proposals should explain the nature of the interest area of the participant and how it is of concern to philosophy or public life.  Identification of community-based practitioners who might be interested and able to participate in particular workshops is welcomed.

Table Sessions.These more informal, round table sessions will occur over lunch during the conference and are intended for discussion of issues that are less developed.  To propose a table session that you would help organize or lead, send a succinct statement of the problem and some ways in which philosophers could engage it.  Again, suggestions for community-based practitioners who might be interested and able to participate in particular workshops are welcomed.  The organizers will select a range of these sessions and assign tables for the conference; participants will also have the option of organizing table discussions during the conference.

Paper Presentation.  Proposals are welcome for presentations on any area of philosophy relevant to public policy, advocacy, or activism, presentations which document past and ongoing projects in publicly engaged philosophy, or take up more theoretical questions on how to do publicly engaged work.

Organized Panels.  Panels may be proposed on any number of themes:  Book sessions, philosophical issues in public philosophy, or policy problems and how philosophers may engage them.  These sessions could include a traditional set of three papers followed by discussion or more informal brief panelist remarks followed by interactive discussion among panelists and the audience.  Proposals should include names and affiliations of proposed panelists, the proposed format, and an abstract of what will be addressed.

In addition to taking up pressing political problems, conference-wide sessions will address larger questions in public philosophy:  In what ways is philosophy, when engaged with various publics, transformative, i.e., how can or does philosophy improve public life?  In what ways is philosophy transformed when engaged with various publics, i.e., how can public engagement inform philosophical concepts and understanding or alter disciplinary boundaries?  And, if public philosophy is valuable—then how might we promote and sustain its practice?