CFP: 21st-Century Theories of Literature: Ethics, Tropes, Attunement

NB: the deadline for the call for papers has been extended until 25/1. We particularly welcome new proposals on the themes of “tropes” and “attunement”.

Confirmed keynote speakers: Derek Attridge (York); Claudia Brodsky (Princeton); Maximilian de Gaynesford (Reading); Anthony Ossa-Richardson (Southampton); Constantine Sandis (Hertfordshire); Catherine Wearing (Wellesley College).

Following the success of the 2014 conference “21^st-Century Theories of Literature: Essence, Fiction and Value”, which drew over eighty participants from across the globe and several of whose papers are about to be published as essays in Andrea Selleri and Philip Gaydon (eds.), Literary Studies and the Philosophy of Literature: New Interdisciplinary Directions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016 – forthcoming), this conference seeks to broaden the avenues of conversation between aesthetics and literary studies that were opened on that occasion by prompting scholars from both fields to engage with each other in an actively interdisciplinary study of topics shared by literature and philosophy.

This time, too, there will be three overarching themes: (1) Ethics; (2) Tropes; (3) Attunement. The main questions to be explored are, respectively: (1) whether and how literature and ethics can provide reciprocal illumination, and how each field’s established lines of enquiry can help the other; (2) how literary studies and the philosophy of literature negotiate non-literal meaning, and the linguistic models which the respective practices imply; (3) how the theories and practices of the two fields can be brought to bear on one another. For each of these themes there will be parallel sessions with papers by scholars at all stages of their careers, and a double keynote session that will feature established scholars from each field.

Abstracts of 400-500 words for 20-minute presentations should be sent to the organisers at fveconference@live.warwick.ac.uk by 25/1/2017. We would particularly appreciate an engagement with both philosophical and literary-critical literature, but this is not a requirement as long as your argument is broad enough to be of interest to a large interdisciplinary audience. We welcome case studies and historical analyses, as long as there is an explicit theoretical dimension to the discussion. Possible themes may include but are not limited to:

 

Ethics

• Illustrations of ethical themes in fiction
• Illumination of ethical themes through fiction
• Doing, deeds and actions and consequences in fiction
• Narrative and the formation of character
• Fiction as experimentation with situation and response
• Narration and judgement
• Fiction and habitus
• Implied attitudes in literature
• The ethics of reading

Tropes

• Literary vs figurative meaning
• Tropes as conveyors of philosophical meaning
• Tropes and genre
• Tropes across and between cultures
• The evolution of tropes in history
• Tropes and quantitative literary theory
• Reading protocols and figurative language
• Tropes and the history of hermeneutics
• Tropes in expository vs non-expository prose

 

Attunement

• Generality and particularity in literature and philosophy
• Literary affect and hermeneutic interpretation
• Literary immediacy and concept generation
• Modes of argument: what could each field take from the other
• Literary plots: cases/examples for philosophers?
• Literary works as case studies to illustrate philosophical issues: enrichment or appropriation?
• The limits of language and how to tackle them
• Philosophical contributions of “literary” writers
• Philosophers and style

This conference is organised by Andrea Selleri (Warwick), Marianna Ginocchietti (Trieste), Alex Underwood (Warwick), Giulia Zanfabro (Trieste), and it is made possible by the generous funding of the British Society of Aesthetics and of Warwick’s Centre for Research in Philosophy, Literature and the Arts. We are able to provide travel bursaries of £700, so please let us know if you would like to be considered for one.

2016 NEH Summer Institute, “Moral Psychology and Education”: Applications due March 1

Moral Psychology and Education: Putting the Humanities to Work

A National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute

May 30 – June 24, 2016 (4 weeks)

Several recent philosophers have emphasized the importance of the humanities for civic engagement, a flourishing democracy, and a globalized world. This four-week Summer Institute for College and University Teachers at Grand Valley State University from May 30 to June 24, 2016 extends discussion beyond the public function of the humanities to an intensive examination of the moral psychology behind effective moral education. Guided by 17 faculty from a variety of fields, participants will develop teaching and research projects. Application deadline is March 1, 2016 at 11:59 pm.

Click here for general information.

Click here to apply.

From the organizers: We hope to attract faculty interested in theoretical and empirical research on how the use of humanities within education spurs and drives moral development. Individuals selected to participate in the four-week institute on Moral Psychology and Education will receive $3,300.  Stipends are intended to help cover travel expenses to and from the project location, books and other research expenses, and ordinary living expenses. Stipends are taxable.

7th Ludwig Wittgenstein Summer School 2015 (Cora Diamond, James Conant): Applications due March 30

This year’s Ludwig Wittgenstein Summer School (for university students in philosophy) will be held in Kirchberg, Austria August 5-8 and will be co-taught by Cora Diamond and Jim Conant. The topic this year is Wittgenstein on Following a Rule: Philosophical Investigations, Sections 185-242. See below for more information. The deadline for applications is March 30.

7th Ludwig Wittgenstein Summer School 2015 (Cora Diamond, James Conant)

5th – 8th of August 2015 in Kirchberg am Wechsel, Austria

Wittgenstein on Following a Rule:
Philosophical Investigations,
Sections 185-242

With: Cora Diamond (Charlottesville) and James Conant (Chicago)

Scientific Organization and Direction: Volker A. Munz (Klagenfurt)

You can download the poster with this link.

Maximum number of participants: 40
Application deadline (registration and payment): 30 March 2015 (Later applications can unfortunately not be taken into account.)
Information concerning acceptance/non-acceptance: 30 April 2015 (Full reimbursement in case of non-acceptance)

Accommodation will be organized by the ALWS and is located just opposite the conference centre. Private booking possible.

Summer school participants are invited to join the 38th International Wittgenstein Symposium: Realism – Relativism – Constructivism. Kirchberg am Wechsel,
9 – 15 of August 2015 at reduced fees.

Fees:
220 Euro including conference participation (180 Euro for ALWS members)
180 Euro summer school only (150 Euro for ALWS members).
Summer school fees can be reimbursed only until 15 June 2015 (minus 20 Euro handling charge).
(Refunding of later cancellation: 110 Euro / 90 Euro; minus 20 Euro handling charge)

Payment of the fees includes:
* Free board and lodging during the summer school (dormitory)
* Certificate of participation (working load in ECTS points)

Required qualifications: The summer school is addressed to advanced university students in philosophy. Elementary knowledge of Wittgenstein’s philosophy is desirable. Applicants are asked to send a transcript record and a 3-page preparatory essay on a selected subject of Philosophical Investigations, Sections 185-242

Further details concerning preparation (reading list), programme, etc. will be announced.

Teaching language: English

For registration please click here to get the registration form.

Please send your application documents to:
Volker A. Munz
Department of Philosophy
Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
Universitaetsstrasse 65-67
A-9020 KLAGENFURT
Email. Volker.Munz@aau.at

Shakespeare & Philosophy Conference (Sept. 12th and 13th, 2014) – University of Hertfordshire

Titled Shakespeare: The Philosopher, this conference will be devoted to exploring Shakespeare’s contribution to philosophy. The event will take place at the University of Hertfordshire in England.

‘Shakespeare’s work is rich in philosophical themes, addressing questions in areas including metaphysics, ethics, philosophy of mind, and social and political philosophy. Meanwhile, issues concerning how Shakespeare’s works manage to represent what they do are ripe for consideration in aesthetics, with the plays raising questions about the nature of representation, fiction, interpretation, literature and history, tragedy and comedy. Shakespeare: The Philosopher aims to explore the importance of philosophy in understanding Shakespeare, and the importance of Shakespeare to issues in philosophy.’

Program

Friday 12th September

10:00-11:00 Greg Currie (York) Title: tbc

11:00-12:00 Katie Brennan (Temple University) ‘Tragic Knowledge: Reading Nietzsche through Shakespeare’

12:00-13:00 Lunch

13:00-14:00 Miranda Anderson (Edinburgh) ‘Extending the Self in Shakespeare’

14:00-15:00 Sophie Battell (Cardiff) ‘Shakespeare, Derrida, and Cosmopolitanism’

15:00-15:30 Break

15:30-16:30 Derek Matravers (Open University) ‘The History Plays: Fact or Fiction?’

16:30-17:30 Christopher Norris (Cardiff) ‘Ripeness Is All: Wittgenstein and Shakespeare’

Saturday 13th September

09:00-10:00 Tzachi Zamir (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) ‘Literary Achievement and Moral Growth’

10:00-11:00 Owen Anderson (Princeton & Arizona State University) ‘Shakespeare and the Problem of Moral Evil’

11:00-11:30 Break

11:30-12:30 Craig Bourne (Hertfordshire) & Emily Caddick Bourne (Cambridge & Birkbeck, London) ‘Macbeth’s Prospects’

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-14:30 Adele-France Jourdan (K.U. Leuven) ‘Grotesque Laughter: Coping with Violence in Titus Andronicus’

14:30-15:30 Max de Gaynesford (Reading) ‘Attuning Philosophy and Poetry: Speech Acts and The Sonnets’

The conference is open to all. Registration is free.

To register: shakespeareandphilosophy@gmail.com

For more information: http://www.bournecaddickbourne.com/#!shakespeare-and-philosophy/cjg9

Philosophy, Literature, America: May 30-31, Dublin (conference

“The American Voice in Philosophy” (Principle Investigators, Professor Maria Baghramian, Dr. Aine Mahon, Dr. Sarin Marchetti, and Fergal McHugh) is in it third phase. Many thanks to Dr. Marchetti for sending along the poster for the associated upcoming conference. Click [here] to read more about their project.

37th International Wittgenstein Symposium 2014 Call for Papers

Analytical and Continental Philosophy: Methods and Perspectives

Kirchberg am Wechsel, 10 – 16 of August 2014

Scientific Organizers:
Sonja Rinofner-Kreidl & Harald A. Wiltsche (KFU Graz)

Deadline for paper submission: 22 May 2014.

Sections:
1. Wittgenstein
2. Models of Objectivity and Current Challenges to Reasons’ Authority
3. Fact and Value
4. Intuitionism and Its Discontents
5. Embodied and Embedded: Naturalizing and Socializing the Mind
6. Metaphilosophy: Varieties of Philosophical Inquiry

Invited Speakers
Marcia Baron (Indiana University)
Kathi Beier (Vienna)
Michel Bitbol (Paris)
Thiemo Breyer (Heidelberg)
James Robert Brown (Toronto)
Christine Chwaszcza (Cologne)
Sabine Döring (Tübingen)
Guillaume Frechette (Salzburg)
Thomas Fuchs (Heidelberg)
Steve Fuller (Warwick)
Peter Hacker (Oxford)
Robert Hanna (Boulder)
Walter Hopp (Boston)
Hanne Jacobs (Chicago)
Martin Kusch (Vienna)
Charles Larmore (Brown University)
Dieter Lohmar (Cologne)
Verena Mayer (Munich)
James McGuirk (Bodø)
Uwe Meixner (Augsburg)
Karl Mertens (Würzburg)
Roberta De Monticelli (San Raffaele)
Alva Noë (Berkeley)
Søren Overgaard (Copenhagen)
Inga Römer (Wuppertal)
Joachim Schulte (Zurich)
Alessandro Salice (Copenhagen)
Hans Bernhard Schmid (Vienna)
Charles Siewert (Houston)
Jan Slaby (Berlin)
Thorsten Streubel (Berlin)
Michela Summa (Heidelberg)
Thomas Szanto (Vienna)
Christian Wenzel (Taipei)
Dan Zahavi (Copenhagen)
Robert H. Ziegler (Würzburg)

New Literary History Seminar on Post-Critical Interpretation–Applications due May 30

NLH Seminar on Post-critical Interpretation

Applications are invited for a seminar on post-critical interpretation to be held on October 31 and/or November 1 at the University of Virginia. The aim of this event is to stimulate ideas about aesthetic, political, or philosophical alternatives to critique via collective discussion of pre-circulated essays by seminar participants. While the seminar is intended primarily for graduate students and assistant professors, scholars at all levels are welcome to apply. Applicants should have a strong grasp of current methodological debates in literary and cultural studies and a willingness to explore new styles of reading and reasoning.

The costs of accommodation and meals will be covered. We anticipate that most participants will receive travel funding from their home institution, but a few travel stipends may be available in case of demonstrated need.

Applications should be sent by May 30 to New Literary History, University of Virginia, 219 Bryan Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4121. They should consist of the following materials: cover letter, resume, and an essay or dissertation chapter of 6,000-10,000 words that speaks directly to the concerns of the seminar. Please indicate if you are in need of travel funds and provide the name of one referee. References will only be required for short-listed candidates.

Hannah Arendt/Reiner Schurmann Memorial Symposium: Feminist Investigations: A Manifesto

Hi Folks,

Exciting symposium coming up! Sponsored by The New School for Social Research’s Philosophy Department, the conference will take place at The New School on April 3rd & 4th.

A quick brief about the event can be found here:

http://events.newschool.edu/event/philosophy_department_hannah_arendtreiner_schurmann_memorial_symposium#.Uxd5TPRdVf9

Otherwise, the full schedule and location details can be found on the conference website:

http://feministinvestigations.wordpress.com/

DH

Attn: Those in, near, or able to travel to Chicago this weekend (Feb. 14-16): Conference on Walter Benjamin!

Titled “Walter Benjamin as Philosopher,” the conference will be devoted to the topic of Eli Friedlander’s book “Walter Benjamin: A Philosophical Portrait.” It’s being jointly organized by the University of Chicago’s Department of Germanic Studies and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on German Literature and Culture, the Department of Philosophy and the Committee on Social Thought.

Check out the program and other details here:

http://benjamin-as-philosopher.blogspot.com/

 

2014 Lionel Trilling Lecture by Toril Moi: “‘Understanding from Inside,’ or Critique and Admiration: Reading after Wittgenstein and Cavell,” March 3, Columbia University

Mark your calendars now: Toril Moi will deliver the 2014 Lionel Trilling Lecture Monday, March 3, 2014 at 6:15pm in The Heyman Center Second Floor Common Room at Columbia University.  [Click the image above for more information.]

Her paper is titled “‘Understanding from Inside,’ or Critique and Admiration: Reading after Wittgenstein and Cavell.” Heather Love and Bernie Rhie will respond.

The abstract reads: “Ordinary language philosophy, which I define as the philosophical tradition after Ludwig Wittgenstein and J. L. Austin as established and extended by Stanley Cavell, proposes a powerful method for undoing illusions and exposing incoherent thinking. Yet this is not ‘critique’ in the usual sense of the term in literary studies, for the same method also allows us to develop intellectually powerful accounts of our admiration for a text, a film, or a work of art.

I shall show that ordinary language philosophy develops a method of reading which undoes the traditional opposition between ‘suspicious’ (or ‘symptomatic’) and ‘sympathetic’ reading. For this method does not begin in suspicion, but in an attempt to see the question from the other person’s point of view, in an effort to grasp as accurately as possible precisely why the other critic, or the writer, says what she says. The most telling critique will always emerge from the best understanding of how it is that the other can say what she says.

At the same time, this method of reading also puts us in a position to explain, powerfully and with intellectual rigor, why a literary text, a film, or a work of art does what it does, and why a work deserves our admiration. In this way, ordinary language philosophy puts us in a position to explain why we care about literature and other arts, and why their insights matter.”

–Toril Moi, James B. Duke Professor of Literature and Romance Studies and Professor of English, Philosophy, and Theater Studies at Duke University